I: The Road to Recovery
by Jayme F. Midorikawa
Summary: My first new story in years! Takes place between Bellwether's arrest and Nick's graduation. Nick helps Judy to recover while making a big decision to change his life for her. The first in a hopeful series of stories I'm hoping to make. I hope you'll all enjoy it.
1. Reparation

**Hi everyone! Man, I can't even remember the last time I posted ANYTHING on this site! It's been a crazy several years, hasn't it Well, I swear this time, I am NOT going to let this new work fall by the wayside. Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with the movie Zootopia, like no other movie has done to me in years and years, so much so that it actually gave me inspiration to write on this site again! Anyway, this is the first story in what I'm hoping to make into a series of stories, ranging from multi-chapters to one shots here and there all in chronological order. I absolutely adore Judy x Nick (I know, what an absolute shock) and these ideas I had just felt so perfect for such a realistically portrayed relationship like what they had in the movie. i hope you'll all enjoy, and I can only promise I'll try to keep a consistent schedule, but pestering me for new chapters won't help, since I have school, work and real life issues to contend with as well. I only say this cause I've seen other writers in this fandom being bogged down with demands, and it just adds unnecessary stress.**

 **I don't own Zootopia, all characters and the setting is property of Disney.**

" _And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."_

"It's YOUR word against yours." Never before had those words of razor sharp wit felt so good for her to say, and never had they felt so good for him to hear; particularly since this time he wasn't on the receiving end.

If only there had been a conveniently placed camera to capture that look of dumbfounded shock on Bellwether's face the instant that little recording came from that carrot pen; that would've been the one thing needed to make this moment absolutely perfect for Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Not only had their last split-second plan of swapping the Night Howler serum for blueberries actually worked, but they'd even managed to get the most incriminating piece of evidence they could've ever asked for straight from the metaphorical horses' mouth.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart. Boom." Oh, to hear the very same words he'd used on Judy when he first conned her being used on their enemy felt SO immensely satisfying, it took every bit of willpower Nick had not to let out a victorious laugh; especially when the devious little sheep was about to make a run for it, only for the good old officers of the ZPD to make their grand entrance, effectively stopping her and her ram cohorts dead in their tracks.

And the best part of it all: by the looks on all their faces, they'd witnessed and heard EVERYTHING.

"C-Chief Bogo, this is all a grave misunderstanding! I-I…" Bellwether was already desperately trying to fast talk her way out; but the hulking Cape buffalo wasn't having any of it, as before she even knew it, the miniscule sheep felt a fitting pair of handcuffs being fastened around her hooves alongside her hench-rams; rendering her utterly speechless and wide-eyed.

"Mayor…or perhaps I should say 'Ex-Mayor' Bellwether; you are hereby under arrest for conspiracy and the attempted murder of a police officer. We'll have plenty more questions for you later down at the station. Until then, take them away." Chief Bogo ordered as his officers quickly escorted Bellwether and her rams in a single file out the door to the Natural History Museum. Once he was certain there would be no further trouble, he quickly brought his attention to the bunny and fox still stuck down in the display pit.

"Well don't you all just stand there, help them out!" the chief ordered as the rest of his officers quickly reached down into the pit to help the two up.

"Be careful, she's hurt; okay boys?" Nick recommended as he helped hoist Judy up to grab the paw of a lion officer before the fox himself was hoisted up right after her; immediately returning to her side as the ZPD officers quickly looked over the gash on Judy's leg.

"Thanks to Bellwether's call, the paramedics should be here any second, and then they can get that properly fixed up and better assess how bad it is." Bogo observed as Nick immediately re-wrapped the bandanna around the wound once the officers gave Judy some space.

"Chief, before anything else, we've got the serum Bellwether was using to make the predators go savage. It's made from toxic flowers called Night Howlers." Judy immediately informed as Nick reached into his shirt pocket, once more revealing the tiny blue pellet while Bogo and the rest of the ZPD could only look in surprise. It was astounding to think something so small and outwardly harmless-looking could've been responsible for causing so much chaos and damage.

"Alright, we'll have this taken to the forensics lab right away. And if all turns out for the better, they may be able to reverse-engineer an antidote." Bogo replied with a heavy air of relief and even what could be construed as pride in the two small mammals as he took the Night Howler pellet and immediately sealed it into a tiny evidence bag; just as the museum doors burst open for two wildebeest paramedics to come rushing in with a stretcher, right on cue.

"Alright, just stay still and relaxed, Officer Hopps. We're taking you to Zootopia Central Hospital and we can get you all patched up." One of the paramedics wasted no time informing as they quickly got Judy into the stretcher; elevating her leg as they already began to wheel her out to the ambulance waiting outside.

"Wait! I'm going with her." Nick called out as he tried to follow after them only for Chief Bogo to stop him with a steady hoof on his shoulder.

"I understand your sentiments, but I'm afraid we'll need to get all the details we can surrounding what just happened here first for procedure's sake, and without Hopps or Bellwether, you're the only witness we have." Bogo tried to explain while Nick watched Judy being wheeled further away; an instinctive sensation of cold beginning to stir in his stomach. Of course, hearing the chief's words also couldn't help but miff him the slightest bit. He still remembered their first encounter in the Rainforest District; how when Judy had called him as a witness, Bogo made absolutely no effort to disguise that he would never trust any word to come out of a fox's mouth.

But for Nick, what mattered right now wasn't the hypocrisy, but rather making sure Judy was really going to be okay. When he'd seen her wound after she cut herself on that mammoth tusk, it didn't SEEM to be serious; but he wasn't a doctor, so for all he knew there might have been some detail he missed that could've been gravely serious.

"Wait, Chief Bogo, please! Let Nick go. We solved this case together. Let him come with me, please." Judy suddenly interjected just as she was about to be wheeled through the door, stopping the paramedics in their tracks as they looked back to see what the ZPD chief would do.

With his signature heavy sigh of irritation or exasperation, the Cape buffalo released Nick as he immediately rushed to the stretcher-ridden bunny with a barely-hidden look of great relief.

"As soon as I hear you're up and able to talk, Hopps, I'll be expecting to get full details from both of you." Bogo informed them just as they stepped out into the bright afternoon sun of Zootopia's Central Square. The typical hustle and bustle of the literal heart of the city was thankfully relegated behind police tape as the paramedics hoisted the stretcher into the back of the ambulance; Nick quickly climbing in after them as the doors shut and they were soon wheeling out of the square with the sirens blaring.

The paramedics wasted no time removing the bandanna and cutting away the patch of Judy's jeans to get a better look at the gash running down her leg while Nick felt himself instantly tense up at the sight. While it might not have been bleeding too badly from the start, it was still an unpleasant sight, and he naturally disliked seeing his only real friend in pain like this.

For a few minutes, the paramedics didn't say anything as they closely examined the wound before silently working to get it properly wrapped up as if they could communicate exactly what they needed each other to do without a single word.

"H-how bad is it? I did the best I could when it happened, but…" Nick began to explain before one of the paramedics motioned for him to stop once they'd fully wrapped the wound in gauze.

"Well, I can give both of you good news and bad news. The good news is whatever did this didn't get too deep, otherwise you'd be bleeding much more profusely, Officer Hopps. And it's a good thing you wrapped it up when you did, sir. The sooner effort is taken to avoid infection, the better. However, the bad news is it was still considerably deep, so we'll need to get you into surgery as soon as we get to the hospital. The head doctors will be able to make a more detailed diagnosis there." the paramedics explained as Nick and Judy exchanged worried gazes with each other. While they were both relieved her wound wasn't as bad as it very easily could've been; the idea of going into surgery still left them both with a cold pit in their stomachs.

As if on a dreaded cue, they felt the ambulance come to a stop and the paramedics immediately got the doors open and wheeled the stretcher back outside; making a beeline for the entrance to the largest hospital in all of Zootopia; Nick nearly having to run to keep up with them as any other staff and patients instinctively stepped aside to clear the way for them.

The instant they were inside, the nurse at the front desk immediately made the call on the intercom for the surgery team as the four weaved their way through the bustling halls towards the surgery wing. All the while, Nick kept in pace with Judy's stretcher as he laid a supportive paw over her own, which she instantly returned with placing her free paw over his, a grateful smile on her face as she could see just how worried the fox was, even though knowing him he'd never verbally admit it.

Once they rounded what had to be the seventh corner, they were immediately greeted by a small assortment of doctors in surgical gloves and masks. Like a well-oiled machine, they immediately gathered around Judy's stretcher, making their way for a large set of double doors labeled 'OPERATING ROOM 3'. As Nick watched them make their way, he and Judy locked gazes for a few seconds as he could see how nervous the poor bunny was. No mammal liked going to the hospital period, especially for something as serious as surgery. And as much as he wanted to be at her side to let her know it would be okay, he knew he'd only get in the way of the professionals, and the last thing he wanted was to risk Judy getting hurt even worse than she already was.

"It's gonna be okay, Carrots. I'll be right there with you when it's all over, promise!" Nick called out to her, which visibly seemed to reassure her as she gave him another grateful smile before disappearing behind those double doors. Once she was out of sight, Nick instinctively let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding in, soon surrendering himself to collapse into a nearby chair. Now all he could do was wait and hope for the best.

As the minutes seemed to drag on and on, the fox couldn't help but start dwelling deep into his own thoughts. It surprised him that he was this uncharacteristically worried. Everything had been going so well. He and Judy had reconciled, they'd finally managed to solve the case of the Night Howlers and essentially saved Zootopia from itself, considering things went well with the forensics like Chief Bogo had been hoping. So then if everything had turned out so well with the exception of Judy getting hurt, why was this cold twisting sensation in his gut so prominent?

' _C'mon, Wilde, get it together. You know Carrots isn't like any other bunny. She's tough, and they even said the wound didn't look too bad. She could pull through this no problem.'_ That little voice of optimism kept bouncing about in Nick's head as he kept looking back at the double doors, as if expecting the doctors to come out any second to give him the verdict since he'd been the only other mammal with her.

' _But still, those weren't actual surgeons. Who knows what they might find? What if there's nerve damage? What if Carrots won't be able to run or hop anymore? She could end up having a handicap for the rest of her life because of this. I knew I shouldn't have gotten so far ahead of her, maybe I could've stopped it.'_ That pesky lingering doubt made itself known as the fox instinctively started clenching his paws into fists over and over in an attempt to calm himself down. There was a whole number of ways this could end up affecting Judy long-term, and if that were to happen, Nick knew he'd never be able to forgive himself for allowing his best friend to get hurt.

' _This isn't helping, Nick, you know that. No matter what happened, SHE never gave up…but God knows she probably wanted to after what happened with that conference last week, and you certainly didn't help that. But she got back up to make things right; for all of us, and I'm not about to let that be for nothing. I can't let this get me down. I'm sure she wouldn't if I were in there. You gotta keep it together…you gotta do it for Judy's sake.'_ He finally accepted silently as he could feel a swelling of determination building up inside him. Judy was without a doubt the strongest mammal he'd ever met, let alone the strongest bunny, and he wasn't about to let himself sink into despair without even knowing for certain how she was doing. He'd only have to wait and see how she was the next time he'd see her, and then he could finally decide which emotions to let take him over.

"Hey, did you hear? That bunny officer Judy Hopps just got moved in here." Nick could hear a passing fawn nurse saying to a beaver nurse as they were making their way down the hall towards him, completely paying him no mind as if he weren't even there.

"Oh my goodness, she isn't hurt is she?" the smaller nurse asked worriedly just as they were about to round a corner.

"What do YOU think? Why else would she have been brought here? And there was a fox with her too." The fawn answered, saying the word 'fox' with an especially notable bit of venom just as they disappeared from sight.

"Oh, I'll bet he's the cause of it. Hopefully the ZPD will come to check on her soon and they can get him out of here. Oh, that poor bunny, finally warns us about all those savage predators only to get mauled by one herself. What a world." The beaver replied with equal parts sympathy and spite before Nick could no longer hear them and was once again left to his own thoughts.

' _Some things never change. Even if I did tell them the truth, they'd never believe a fox. Even if this Night Howler business does finally get revealed to the public, how much of a difference is it gonna make? Nobody liked our kind before; why should that be any different afterward?'_ Nick thought bitterly to himself. His paws once again clenched into fists as his thoughts once more delved into a worrisome frenzy.

He'd been dished out all kinds of insults for being a fox since he was a kid, it was nothing new. Shifty. Sly. Dishonest. Untrustworthy. Those were a few titles that prominently came to mind. Of course, nothing was ever going to top that horrible night where he finally learned just what a cruel and judgmental place the world was; although that horrible press conference had come pretty darn close. Who knows, right now Nick's emotions were in such a maelstrom, for all he could be able to figure out, maybe that day did manage to top it all. After all, the judgment of a bunch of rotten kids is nothing compared to being betrayed by the only mammal you felt you could honestly call your friend, regardless of if that was their intention or not.

But what those nurses had said really managed to get under the fox's skin. Being spoken down to for being a predator was one thing, but to immediately be pinned as the one responsible for Judy being hurt was what brought his blood to a boil. As much as he couldn't have cared less about her when they'd first started working together, he would never intentionally have hurt her, and that was especially true now.

Judy was the first mammal to ever actually place any trust in him, and when he had given her no reason to do so. The only reason he'd worked with her was because she was blackmailing him; and he'd naturally assumed she would leave him on his own once again once she had enough clues or evidence to carry on herself. And yet not only did she actively choose to save both their hides more than once, but when she was put on the spot, she actually looked to him for help. That moment still resonated crystal clear in his head whenever he thought back on it.

No mammal had ever looked at him the way Judy did that night in the Rainforest District. He'd only ever been met with glares of suspicion, distaste and contempt; but she looked at him in that moment like he was legitimately her only friend, like he was someone she could actually count on. Perhaps that was why he actually went out of his way to stand up for her. But then again, he of course couldn't deny that seeing her so helpless and alone brought back too many painful memories when he was in her exact same place as a kid.

Respect? Kindred spirits? Pity? Whatever others wanted to call it, Nick knew something big had silently changed in him that night, and it was all because Judy trusted him of her own volition. He felt there'd been a considerable mutual understanding between the two of them, so much so that she was the very first mammal he'd ever trusted enough to open up to about wanting to be in the Junior Ranger Scouts and what had resulted from it.

Yes, they'd hit a major hurdle in their friendship since then, but that was all in the past now. She'd achieved her dream of becoming a recognized police officer; any other mammal would've no doubt just accepted that and ignored the losses that resulted from it; but not her. When they'd first reunited under that bridge this morning, all he could feel was that disgusting sense of betrayal towards her for what she'd unintentionally said, and ESPECIALLY for letting that instinctive fear all prey had, take over when she reached for that fox repellent despite everything they'd been through.

But when he heard her express her regrets for everything she'd caused, something in him knew she meant every single word from the bottom of her heart. She never hated predators like most prey in Zootopia instinctively did, and it killed her to see how much damage she'd caused; but in the end, what she lamented most of all was the pain she'd caused HIM personally. If she only wanted to fix the unrest in the city, she could've easily just gone to her former peers in the ZPD with her clue. But no, she went to HIM before anything else.

Just taking all those facts in had helped him realize that restoring the friendship they had was just as important to her as saving the city, if not even more so. No other mammal he ever knew would've ever gone so far to fix what they did wrong…but Judy wasn't like any other mammal he knew. She was special, in so many ways he knew he'd never be able to count.

When all is said and done, when he heard her pour her heart out to him in that moment, he realized there was no way he could've ever stayed angry with her. And after all this emotional upheaval and all the effort they put in together to make everything right, to hear others automatically assign him the blame for that special bunny getting hurt got to him in a way he swore he would never let anyone or anything get to him.

The fox was suddenly snapped free from his mental reverie with the sound of the double doors to the operating room being opened up. As one of the badger doctors approached, Nick looked to the small clock hanging on the wall to see nearly three hours had already passed. It hadn't even felt like half an hour to him.

"Excuse me, sir, but I understand you were the one with Officer Hopps when she came here?" the doctor greeted Nick as he immediately got up from his seat; already feeling especially anxious to hear how Judy was doing.

"That's right, doctor. I-is she gonna be alright?" Nick asked worriedly. Remembering how the nurses already were blaming him for Judy's condition, he couldn't help but feel nervous the doctor was going to have him taken away under the same suspicion.

Instead the doctor let out a heavy sigh of what had to be relief as he looked back to the double doors.

"She is one very lucky bunny, Mr.…" the doctor finally replied before giving an inquisitive glance to Nick, clearly emphasizing the need for a name."

"Oh, yes, Wilde, Nicholas Wilde." Nick quickly answered as he instinctively extended a paw for the doctor, which he politely took as the fox let out his own breath of relief to at least know nothing serious had happened.

"Whatever cut her leg got her at just the right angle and depth. If it had been a couple centimeters deeper, she would've been looking at some considerable nerve damage. And if it had gone in at any other angle, she would've either received some severe muscle tearing or a severed artery." The doctor went on to explain as Nick felt a chill go up his spine as he continued.

' _Carrots was THAT close to either never being able to walk right again or even bleeding out? Oh wow…you lucky, LUCKY bunny!'_ Nick thought in immense relief as he quickly brought himself back to attention.

"It's a good thing that injury got wrapped up as soon as it did too. Sooner an effort is taken to avoid infection, the better." The doctor finished as he seemed to be examining every physical sign of reaction Nick had to his summary.

"That's exactly what your paramedics said too. Thank you so much, doctor. I was really starting to get worried." Nick admitted as he finally noticed the peculiar look in the doctor's gaze.

"Forgive me for prying, Mr. Wilde, but you seem unusually concerned for the welfare of Officer Hopps." The doctor finally said; sending an instant sensation of offense into Nick's whole body. So he's automatically placed under suspicion just because he's a predator expressing concern for a friend who just happens to be prey. Well, that was definitely a new one.

"She's my friend, of course I would be. We were working together, and I should've done more to keep her from getting hurt, but I couldn't. I did the best I could to take care of her, and I just want to know that she's going to be okay." Nick expressed sternly as he locked eyes with the doctor, as if to communicate he knew exactly what the doctor was insinuating, and he wasn't going to stand by and take it. For several tense seconds, neither of them exchanged anymore words, until the doctor finally let out a weary sigh and stepped back; his expression softening considerably as he seemed satisfied by the conviction in Nick's tone and stance.

"I understand, Mr. Wilde. As I said before, Officer Hopps is very fortunate. Once it's all healed, the worst she'll have is a considerable scar, but her fur should be able to cover that up in due time. I'm guessing you're the one who wrapped her leg up beforehand? Well, that thankfully helped her in the long run, so you can take some comfort in that." The doctor explained in a much less accusatory tone as Nick seemed to ease up to at least now know for certain that Judy wouldn't be at risk of suffering anything long term.

"We already have her recuperating in one of the rooms. She's still under the anesthesia, but she should be waking up in an hour or two. I can take you to see her if you'd like. Of course, we already informed the ZPD as well, so once they arrive, you may have to leave her for the time being. Is that alright?" the doctor offered as Nick felt a smile of gratitude spread across his muzzle as he gave an enthusiastic nod.

"I understand. I'd just like to see her, please." Nick expressed with a barely restrained joy as he quickly followed after the doctor; every single step feeling heavier as he couldn't describe how grateful he was that Judy would be okay.

All at once, he could feel the exciting revelation filling him that all of their efforts, emotions and work had FINALLY amounted to what they'd hoped to achieve. It had to be one of the greatest feelings in the world. For the first time in years, he almost felt as happy as he had been the day his mother presented his brand new scout uniform. Yet at the same time, this felt even better.

Before he even knew it, Nick found himself standing in the doorway to Judy's hospital room. The blinds had been pulled over the window to keep the brilliant afternoon sun from shining in her tranquil sleeping face.

As Nick stepped inside, he couldn't help but look over Judy as she slept perfectly still in her bed. Her ears were folded down in that way that really accentuated the shape of her face; and she looked so unbelievably peaceful right now, in a way he realized he'd never seen her look before. As he silently sat himself at her bedside, he couldn't help but mentally admit to himself that she looked so undeniably cute looking this peaceful, or at least more so than she usually did; which he of course would never have admitted to her face since she would've given him an earful about how not to call bunnies cute afterward.

"I'm sure she'll be very pleased to see you when she wakes up, Mr. Wilde. I'll leave you to your thoughts." The doctor remarked as he stepped away, finally giving the fox the time alone he was looking for. His emerald eyes soon fell upon Judy's little paw laying on the sheets, and as if by natural instinct, he placed his paw over hers in a show of silent support; which to his semi-surprise, her expression seemed to become that much more contented, as if she could somehow tell he was here with her right now, and it gave her all the reassurance she wanted.

"It's finally over, Judy. We actually did it. Just like you believed we could…just like you believed in me. I'm never going to forget that. And I'm not going to let that faith go to waste, either. You wanted to help make the world a better place, and no matter how I have to do it…I'll be there to help you do it." Nick softly whispered to her as he kept running his thumb over her paw; a swelling of pride and conviction practically expanding his chest from within with every word, as if he was swearing this to himself just as much as to her.

 **Man, does it feel good to be writing again. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this, and I'll try to get the next chapter to you relatively soon.**


	2. Recovery

**Hey everyone. Wow, I cannot thank you all enough for the reviews. This had to be one of the most explosive responses I've ever received in all my years writing on this site. I'm definitely going to be keeping this story going, although there may be considerable delays due to work, school and real life along the way. Anyway, here's the new chapter and I hope you'll all enjoy it.**

 **Zootopia belongs to Disney, not me.**

As the first stirrings of consciousness slowly but surely came back to Judy Hopps, the very first thing she noticed was the overbearing light threatening to blind her the instant she opened her eyes. As she let out an involuntary groan in an attempt to move in her bed, that light suddenly seemed to fade, as though something were casting a protective shadow over her.

With actual feeling finally beginning to return to her arms and legs, the grey bunny slowly but hesitantly opened her eyes; her vision a myriad of blurs as she struggled to take in just where she was. Her ears struggled to hear anything either as all sound seemed to just be a cacophony of echoes and meshed together noises. The memory of the anesthesia slowly came back to her just as she noticed her hearing and vision was finally starting to clear.

"You still with us, Fluff?" were the first words to reach her, despite the wooziness in her head making them sound like they were being spoken from underwater. She had to shake her head a bit to clear away some of the dizziness just as she began to make out the shape of what looked like a fellow mammal standing over her like an overshadowing protector.

"Hey, welcome back to the land of the living, Carrots," came to her with an unexpected clarity; almost instantaneously returning all of Judy's senses back to her as she suddenly took in a sharp breath of shock and momentary confusion, looking all around to find herself in a sterile white room before feeling a single paw lay over her own in a show of comfort. In an instant, all confusion and nervousness seemed to diffuse all at once in her as she instinctively turned her head to find the all-too welcome vision of Nick Wilde at her bedside, that charming smirk that only he could have greeting her as she felt a smile of relief already spreading across her lips as she immediately wrapped her paw around his own in a silent show of appreciation.

"It's good to be back. How long was I out?" Judy asked weakly as she realized how dehydrated she was feeling, only for Nick to immediately hand her a glass of water from the nightstand next to her hospital bed.

"Oh, I'd say you were out for a good three days. Those doctors really knocked you out cold," Nick answered, instantly causing Judy to nearly choke on her water as he quickly helped her get it down with a soft back rub as she struggled to catch her breath.

"A-are you serious?!" Judy asked in disbelief, only to be met with that same infuriating yet endearing smirk that instantly told her everything she needed to know as she couldn't help but let out a frustrated but relieved laugh as she gave him a very weak punch in the arm for his terrible attempt at a joke.

"Well it was only really four hours, one since you got out of surgery, but it certainly felt like days to me," Nick said with his own amused chuckle as he was simply glad that she had finally woken up and seemed to already be in that enthusiastic spirit that allowed the two of them to work so well together to begin with.

"Witty fox," Judy said with a contented sigh as she collapsed back into her bed, that bright smile never leaving her face. As worried as she'd been going into surgery, she trusted Nick at his word that he would be there for her, and now that she'd finally woken up, just like she hoped, there he was; that sly, clever, wonderful fox ready with the wisecracks like nothing had ever changed.

"Lucky bunny," Nick replied as he sat himself back down beside her, silently looking her over. Despite the blinds being closed, Judy's violet eyes seemed to nearly be glowing with the radiance of the afternoon sun. That smile on her face was practically beaming with what he could only describe as pure happiness. It was almost as if the joy he'd felt earlier when thinking back on everything they'd accomplished had somehow transferred to her, and now she was going through that euphoria as well.

All while they sat in comfortable silence, neither of them noticed they were joining paws again as if it were instinctual for the two of them.

"You really are a lucky bunny, Carrots. The doctors said you were real close to some permanent damage. I won't scare you with the details, but—" Nick began to say before the door to the room suddenly opened and they were joined by the head doctor he'd spoken to before.

"Ah, Officer Hopps, glad to see you're with us again. How are you feeling?" the doctor greeted as Judy sat herself up to give him her full attention while she and Nick quickly pulled their paws away from each other.

"My leg feels completely numb, but other than that I feel fine, doctor. Thank you. But, uh…I'm not a police officer anymore, so you don't have to call me 'Officer Hopps'," Judy answered, her tone steadily lowering as she reflected back to how despite everything they'd accomplished today, she still wasn't a police officer by any official definition anymore. As far as the system was concerned, everything she and Nick had done today couldn't even be called 'off the books' as much as straight up 'vigilante justice'.

"Oh, my apologies, I hadn't been informed. It's just that we had informed Chief Bogo of your state once we'd finished your surgery, and he's been waiting in the lobby for word of your return to consciousness since then," the doctor explained, sending a surge of nervous apprehension through both Nick and Judy. Despite them finally bringing the mastermind of the missing mammals' case to justice, there was no telling just what the buffalo chief had in store for them. Commendations or reprimands for taking the law into their own hands; both options seemed equally possible.

"Of course, I can't rightly lie to the chief of the ZPD, so I'll have to inform him right away, Ms. Hopps," the doctor continued, clearly not ignorant to the uncertainty in both their expressions as they looked worriedly to each other. Of course he knew it wasn't his place to pry, choosing instead to wait in silence for any show of approval or not.

Reluctantly, Judy gave the doctor a nod of approval, and without another word, he was out the door, leaving the two mammals alone together once more. Nick didn't know the chief too well, so he couldn't make heads or tails whether he was going to be completely understanding of their reasons for doing what they did, regardless of whether they actually did catch the real criminal in the act or not.

Judy on the other hand began wringing her paws together nervously. Chief Bogo was more understanding than she'd initially thought, but he still had a fearsome temper to counterbalance that, and for once she had no idea if he was going to give them the congratulations worthy of a couple behind-the-scenes heroes, or if he was going to have to go by the rules and have them punished for vigilante action.

Despite the little bunny not saying anything, Nick could see all too clearly how anxious Judy was and silently brought one of his arms over her shoulders; pulling her close for a one-armed hug as her trembling seemed to stop all at once.

"Don't worry, Carrots. No matter what Chief Buffalo Butt has to say, I'll stand with you. It'll be just like the good old days," the fox reassured her with that sarcastic undertone as he brought up their less-than-pleasant experience back in the Rainforest District. The memory couldn't help but make Judy shudder as she thought back to how helpless she'd felt back in that moment, but at the same time it also brought a warm smile back to her muzzle. That was the night she and Nick had finally moved beyond their relationship of the cop and her blackmailed sidekick to that of something much stronger. The night she got to see who Nick Wilde really was behind the clever schemes and the sly grin, and came to realize that not only did they have a surprising lot in common from their childhoods, but that she actually could consider him her only real friend in this crazy, crazy world.

Feeling a slight tinge of warmth spreading across her cheeks, Judy silently brought her right arm around Nick's sides, hugging him in return as he couldn't help but smile to see she still wasn't going to let things get her down.

"Thank you, Nick. Thank you for being here…for everything," Judy said in a soft yet heavily emotional whisper as she nuzzled her face into the fox's neck as they held each other; not even noticing the look of genuine surprise on the fox's face to see her being this affectionate for something so simple.

"Oh, c'mon, Carrots, you really don't need to—" Nick began to say before Judy quickly brought her other arm around him; her grip becoming that much tighter as he suddenly felt her shoulders beginning to tremble, quickly followed by the sound of her sniffling as though she were trying to keep herself from crying.

"Yes, I do. I never would've been able to solve this case without you," Judy said in between her barely stifled sobs as she couldn't help but think back to all they had gone through together in pursuit of the answer to this insane conspiracy. When it all came down to it, even all the ZPD resources available probably wouldn't have been able to provide her the help and answers the former con-mammal currently wrapped in her little arms did.

"Aw, don't sell yourself so short, Cottontail. Excessive humility isn't a good look for you. Besides, you're the one that roped me into this in the first place, so really the thanks all goes to you in the end," Nick said in reassurance as he started running one of his paws down her folded down ears for comfort. Not even a full 24 hours had passed and already they were right back to that moment under the bridge. If it weren't for the nervous anticipation of what awaited them at Chief Bogo's hooves, Nick would almost want to laugh at the irony.

"Nick…I'm so sorry for what happened," Judy said in a muffled apology as she kept her face nuzzled into the warm fur of his neck. He of course didn't have to think twice to what she was referring to.

"Oh, don't start with that, Carrots. What's done is done, and the important thing is where we're at now. You said so yourself, you only said what you said because those were the only cards you'd been given. It just happened to be a really bad hand," Nick said in forgiveness as Judy finally pulled herself away from him, wiping the tracks of tears from her face.

"I know, but I still shouldn't have gone for that stupid—" Judy again began to apologize, only for Nick to put a single paw pad to her muzzle, effectively silencing her as she couldn't help but notice the rarely seen serious expression in his green eyes. It was instantly clear to her that he hated seeing her beat herself up, regardless of whether she did truly deserve it or not.

"What's done is done, Carrots. Do you really think I'd be sitting here right now if I didn't already forgive you? Do you think I would've done anything we did today if I didn't already forgive you? Besides, you can't take all the blame. I didn't exactly handle that whole mess too well myself," Nick said in reassurance as he couldn't help but think back regrettably to how angry he'd gotten with the little bunny for what was essentially an innocent mistake through no fault of her own.

"Regardless, I never wanted to hurt you, Nick, and especially not like that. No matter what's going to happen, I promise from now on I'm never going to do something so stupid ever again," Judy said with heavy determination as she put her paws over Nicks'; her violet eyes staring deep into his green ones, as though she were making a solemn vow between them. As serious as he knew she was being, Nick couldn't help but crack yet another amused smirk.

"You know, if I weren't holding onto Smellwether's confession on this little beauty, I'd be tempted to hold you to that," Nick said as he pulled out Judy's carrot pen recorder; wiggling it back and forth in front of her as though he were tempting her to grab for it.

"Speaking of which, I'll be needing to take that for evidence of course," the no-nonsense and all-too familiar voice of Chief Bogo suddenly interrupted, prompting Judy and Nick both to practically jump away from each other and appear as best at attention as they could as the Cape buffalo stood towering in the doorframe; his always serious gaze seemingly looking them both over as though he were approaching two suspects for interrogation.

For a few painfully prolonged seconds, Judy couldn't help but worry just how much of her exchange with Nick her former boss had seen. Of course she wasn't officially one of his officers anymore so there shouldn't have been any repercussions of any kind to worry about, but being under Chief Bogo's gaze always tended to make even the calmest and most collected mammals slowly crack under the pressure.

"How's the leg feeling, Hopps?" the chief finally broke the silence; his initially gruff demeanor slightly loosening up as he finally began to approach; Judy and Nick both letting out mental sighs of relief that for all intents and purposes, he didn't seem to be obviously angry with them.

"It's still pretty numb, sir, but other than that I feel as good as usual," Judy answered as professionally as she could as Chief Bogo towered over her and Nick; that naturally intimidating gaze still penetrating deep into them both in spite of his more approachable tone.

"That's good to hear. The doctor informed me the damage isn't anything severe, so you should be able to move about good as new in a week or two, and you'll at least be able to put some weight on it in a couple days once the stitches have had time to heal," Bogo said with what almost sounded like relief as Judy let out a relieved sigh of her own, grateful for the personal good news.

"Yes, it really is great news. Although I'll admit the name 'Judy Hobbles' was starting to grow on me," Nick piped in with that unmistakable joking tone Judy had become so familiar with, yet the gravely unamused look on Chief Bogo's face shut the fox up where he sat immediately.

"Um, Nick, do you think maybe you could wait out in the hall? Please?" Judy said in a noticeably nervous tone as she could even feel herself getting chills from the chief's stare. If they were indeed going to be in trouble, the last thing her friend needed was to dig himself an even deeper hole with his wisecracks.

"Yeah, sure thing, Carrots. You just let me know when to come back in, okay?" Nick agreed as he hastily made his way out the room; never breaking eye contact with the buffalo, lest he decide to go on the offensive the second his back was turned.

Once they were both sure Nick was a good distance away, Judy immediately returned her attention to Chief Bogo, the anticipation of what was in store for them becoming too much for her to bear.

"Um…is something the matter, sir?" Judy nervously asked as Chief Bogo quietly went to the window overlooking the city and let out the heaviest sigh he could.

"I have to say, Hopps; you somehow keep finding ways to exceed my expectations of you," the chief finally said, earning a momentary look of confusion from the bunny as he kept his back turned to her.

"I know I didn't make any secret of it, but when you were first assigned to the ZPD, I felt it had to be some kind of joke. Only the toughest, most capable and of course the BIGGEST mammals had what it took to join. So when you first arrived, I thought this job would break you within a day. A single week tops.

"When I gave you those 48 hours to tackle the Emmet Otterton case, there wasn't one part of me that felt you'd be able to do it. If I'm being perfectly frank, I knew exactly what a difficult place I was putting you in, precisely because I felt having a little bunny like you among my ranks would inevitably become a hindrance to the functionality of the ZPD.

"And yet when you informed me of finding all the missing mammals at Cliffside and that Mayor Lionheart was behind it all, I felt like it had to be some kind of dream or some such nonsense. You'd completely exceeded all my expectations with that accomplishment alone. In spite of the unease that resulted from it, I still couldn't help but feel proud in spite of what was going on. You must understand, Hopps: I didn't get into law enforcement with such high aspirations and lifelong devotion as you did, so when you resigned, I was shocked.

"When you left, I resigned to the idea that everything would eventually go back to the way it was before, in spite of the paranoia among the public only getting worse with each passing day. And then, completely out of the blue, we got that call from Mayor Bellwether about you having been attacked by a savage fox, and hence we find you, single-handedly uncovering the mayor's real involvement and bringing this entire case to a close."

For a few moments, Bogo remained completely silent, as though he were trying to process where to go from here. All the while, Judy was nervously clutching the bedsheets, unsure what was about to come next. He seemed to be approachable enough, but that was still one of his ways of lowering ones guard before letting his real temper be known.

"I never would've guessed that vigilante justice would be something you were capable of, Hopps. You seemed to be an officer who lived and breathed by the rules. You would've had to be in order to have managed to graduate as Valedictorian. Your first day on parking duty, you even wrote YOURSELF a ticket, for God's sake. So to see you manage to pull this off completely under the radar is nothing short of astounding," the chief finally got to the real point as he turned his gaze to his bedridden former officer as he crossed his arms as though demanding an explanation.

"I-I know it goes against the rules, sir, and for that I'm sorry. But when I learned what the Night Howlers really were, I couldn't just let that go. I'm the reason this city's been tearing itself apart the way it has, and I had to fix it! I know I should've gone to you and the ZPD first, but the only reason I got as far as I did in the first place was because of Nick, and I ended up betraying him because of that horrible press conference. I…we started this case together and…I…I-I wanted to make things right between us again. I didn't want to finish this without him.

"So please, sir, if you have to punish someone for breaking the law, then punish me," Judy finally finished as she took a deep breath as though just bracing herself for the chief to place her under arrest for taking the law into her own paws. It only made sense. Rules were rules.

"Hopps…being the chief of the ZPD, you have to be a good judge of character. You need to be able to read others, have a good understanding of just what kind of mammal they really are. It can help you to make very difficult decisions you otherwise wouldn't have to. I felt confident in my ability to do that by the time you first came through my doors. I thought I had you completely figured out from the start.

"But standing here now, looking at you and looking back on just what you've done…I can honestly say I've never had someone figured so wrong before. You've accomplished an incredible thing I never thought I'd see in all my years, Hopps. All I can say now is…well done," Chief Bogo suddenly said with what couldn't be confused for anything other than pride as his gruff demeanor suddenly shifted into an incredibly rare proud smile as he raised one hoof up in a salute.

Judy nearly felt herself catch a gasp in her throat as she was momentarily speechless, having felt absolute that she was going to be punished. At a loss of what to say, she couldn't help but return a salute of her own to the chief, as though there was a newly established understanding and respect between them, one much stronger than when they'd originally thought the missing mammal case was solved.

"I know that regulations would suggest I have you and the fox punished for taking the law into your paws, but I'm sure once the truth of this whole affair is revealed to the public, City Hall will be willing to make a considerable exception. So for now, I'd say you can consider yourself and the fox off the hook. Just a little secret between us. I'm sure that'll be all cleared up by the time you're cleared to leave this place," Bogo reassured her as he couldn't help but give off a clear air of confidence that things were going to be taking a turn for the better for the city at long last. Judy couldn't help but share that feeling of enthusiasm as she couldn't believe the shift her luck had taken on this incredible day.

"I…I really don't know what to say, sir. I-I'm not looking for any special treatment, and—" Judy began to say before Bogo silenced her yet again with a single raised hoof.

"Don't think of this as 'special treatment', Hopps. You may have resigned, but you were still a very exceptional officer. And while I may not approve of the vigilantism behind what you two did, I know in the end you were only doing what you knew to be the right thing. I can respect that, and that's why I'm doing you this favor. You essentially saved this city from itself, and as a law enforcer sworn to protect it, I don't feel it's right for you to be punished for it," Bogo took great care to explain as Judy couldn't help but feel those words hit her hard. The lifelong enforcer of right and wrong in her felt strange for taking this gracious handout keeping her from the consequences of the law. Yet the individual mammal in her understood the personal ethics the buffalo was expressing that made this decision so clear for him to begin with.

"Do you really think this is going to fix all the damage I caused, sir?" Judy asked after a few moments of contemplative silence. As confident as she felt that what she and Nick had done would ensure no more poor predators would be infected with Night Howlers, she couldn't shake her doubts about the longer-lasting damage that had resulted from it to begin with. Even from when she first arrived, there was a clear yet subtle animosity between certain prey and predators, and Bellwether's scheme had pretty much fanned those flames overnight. Even when the truth would come out, how long would it be before peace could fully return to Zootopia?

"Well, I've been thinking it over on multiple levels for the past few hours. Bellwether was the brains behind it all, so without her, any of her cohorts we haven't arrested would be left without any direction or idea on how to proceed. You and the fox were able to obtain her means of producing the Night Howlers. After you'd been transported from the museum, further investigation uncovered the burned out remains of a single train car underground with what was identified as chemistry lab equipment inside it. I can assume that was YOUR handiwork too?" Bogo explained before casting a questioning glance in her direction, even though his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.

"Yes, sir. We found tons of Night Howlers being grown and processed into a concentrated toxin inside. We were trying to get the whole lab to the ZPD, but things got a bit out of hand along the way," Judy explained, all the while hoping that the evidence they did recover would be enough.

"Well, it's fortunate you still had that serum pellet then. The forensics lab is already hard at work examining it. They're confident they can find a way to reverse engineer an antidote from it to treat the predators that went savage within the next couple of days," Bogo explained with clear relief that even with the lost goldmine of potential evidence, they could still be able to salvage this mess.

"Sir, even if they are able to develop an antidote and treat those predators, what about the public?" Judy asked worriedly. In the end, all their efforts to fix the damage would be for nothing if the citizens were still tearing apart from each other out of fear.

"Well, that's another reason it's a good thing you managed to dismantle Bellwether's operation. All the information you've given me is going to go towards her trial, and that recording on your pen is going to be the perfect evidence to put her away for a good long time. We already have her in questioning down at the precinct. She knows we have her dead to rights, so it's now just a matter of time before we get her full confession. Even if she were stubborn enough to refuse, our investigation of that burned out lab and the testimonies of her cohorts we arrested are providing more than enough evidence.

"In the meantime, since there's no way for her to carry out these attacks; that should put an end to any more predators going savage. It was happening at least once every day before, but hopefully the next few days without anything happening should help ease the citywide tensions considerably by the time the trial rolls around and we're able to administer the Night Howler antidote," Bogo explained, once again instilling a whole new feeling of hope in Judy. They really did save the city. Sure, the effects wouldn't make themselves known overnight, but she knew in due time everything would settle back down and peace could finally be fully restored.

"I have a feeling this may be the beginning of a fresh start for Zootopia, Hopps. Once the truth comes out, I'm sure this will ultimately bring the citizens together like never before. And it's all thanks to you," Bogo congratulated as Judy felt nothing short of ecstatic at this news. This was what she'd been dreaming of for years. She wanted to make the world a better place, and in a way she'd managed to do just that; at the very least that's what she was hoping.

But in that moment, she couldn't help but remember that in spite of this immense accomplishment, she'd ended up throwing away her lifelong dream career of being a police officer in the process. She still felt incredible, but now she couldn't help but feel considerably sad that she wouldn't be able to continue helping make the world a better place one day at a time. Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't hiding her emotions as well as she thought she was as Bogo instantly noticed the overhanging look of regret on the bunny's face.

"What's on your mind, Hopps?" Bogo asked in genuine concern as Judy quickly snapped out of her little mental withdrawal.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm happier than I could hope to explain to know this whole case is finally going to end, and this was all I ever wanted since I was a kid, to make the world a better place. It's just that…I still resigned before it was all over. I wanted to be a real cop more than anything, but now I have to figure out what I'm going to do from now on," Judy explained; her words heavy with regret as Bogo seemed to have a look of understanding.

"Well…if you really wanted to, you could re-enlist. I still have your letter of resignation, and with the marks you had in the Academy, and your exceptional record in this precinct leading up until you resigned, I'm sure I could be able to pull a string or two so that you could be back on duty with the ZPD officially once you're fully healed and certified for field work again," Bogo offered as Judy couldn't help but go completely wide-eyed at what she was hearing. It almost sounded too good to be true.

"I've more or less come to know how the people of this city work as a whole, Hopps. Once the whole truth of this affair is made public, once they know you're the one they have to thank for finally bringing the real criminals to justice and restoring peace…well, it won't be far from what Bellwether said before. You really WILL be a hero to them, and they'll practically be begging City Hall to put you in the ZPD again. And knowing how they want what is ultimately best for Zootopia, there's no reason they'd refuse to give you a second chance. This isn't some kind of abuse of power to do you a favor, I hope you understand. You wouldn't be the first ZPD officer to resign and later re-enlist. It would just be a waste for a mammal with your potential to not be able to pursue it," Bogo explained confidently and professionally, all while Judy looked like she was one step away from either bursting into joyous tears or jumping out of her bed to hug him; neither of which he would've been remotely comfortable with. Thankfully, the grey bunny managed to keep herself composed despite her shaky breaths.

"A-are you sure about this, sir? I mean, I'm grateful, but I don't want to put you and the ZPD through any more trouble on top of everything else," Judy asked as she couldn't imagine the ZPD was going to have an easy time putting together a trial for the mayor of Zootopia, and then on top of that having to get the bunny processed back into the ZPD's ranks.

"It's no trouble, Hopps. It seems the least I can do after everything you've done for this city already. Just promise me you'll at least try to stay out of trouble like this from now on," the chief assured before switching back to his familiar serious demeanor once he was sure Judy was going to take him up on the offer.

"Of course, sir. I can't imagine anything as big as this happening for a long, long time. But…if it's not too much trouble…can I ask you to do something for me?" Judy asked hesitantly, earning a slightly intrigued raised eyebrow from the buffalo for what she had in mind.

Meanwhile, Nick was still waiting patiently in the hall just outside Judy's room. There wasn't any yelling or arguing coming from inside, so for all he knew, that could've been very good or potentially very bad and she simply didn't find it in herself to argue. Just the not knowing was silently driving Nick up the wall. Waiting out here by himself was once again making time feel like it was passing by at a sloth's pace.

Of course, being left with nothing but his own thoughts and worries to keep him company, the fox couldn't help but feel a twisting surge of concern continue festering in the pit of his stomach. If that big lug of a police chief was going to punish them, there was no way either of them would be able to bluff their way out of it. It wasn't even the thought of going to jail that gave Nick chills. It was the thought of how it would potentially affect Judy that kept coming back to him. She pursued the truth to this case with such vigor and dedication because she so clearly believed in doing what was right. What kind of world would this be for her to be punished for pursuing her own morals and ethics?

It was then that memories of those horrible Junior Ranger Scouts and that accursed muzzle came back in a flash. He'd only been pursuing what he felt was right back then, following his dreams just like that optimistic little cottontail. Yet the world felt the need to practically spit in his face and punish him for nothing more than what he was born as. He knew firsthand the world wasn't always just and fair. It had managed to break him emotionally, but he coped with it his own way; but a mammal as naturally emotional as Judy? Something so unfair could very well destroy her, and it was that realization that made Nick suddenly wish he was in there, still by her side and defending her against whatever Bogo had to say.

Just then, the hulking mass of the buffalo himself came lurching through the doorframe just as Nick was about to get up to head back inside. Chief Bogo stopped in his tracks as he and Nick locked their gazes together for a single prolonged yet slowly passing moment, as if the two were silently trying to stare each other down.

"Carrots…s-she isn't…?" Nick finally worked up the nerve to ask as Bogo seemed to be visibly pleased the red fox wasn't looking to start any kind of trouble or argument.

"She's not in trouble if that's what you're worried about, fox. And neither are you for that matter. But just because I'm letting you both off the hook this once doesn't mean you have free reign to do whatever you want from now on. Remember that," Bogo warned as Nick once again found himself shrinking under his deathly gaze and no-nonsense tone.

"Anyway, she said you can go back in there if you want," the chief said in an unexpectedly more approachable tone as he stepped aside to let Nick go back; an offer the fox was all too eager to take up just so he wouldn't have to be alone with the giant anymore.

"You know, fox; I know I made no secret that I didn't trust you back in the Rainforest District," Bogo suddenly interrupted, once again causing Nick to freeze mid-step. Just where was he going with this sudden topic switch?

"But Hopps seems to have the utmost confidence in you. She trusts you, and I've come to realize her instincts are what makes her such an exceptional officer, so…if she trusts you, then I'm willing to as well," the chief hesitated to continue as he tried the best way he could to form an apology for his attitude towards Nick before. All the while, Nick was equally surprised and more than a little confused by this sudden attitude flip. As much as he wanted to say something, he found himself in yet another of those rare moments where he couldn't find the words. At least, not any that a serious mammal would use in this context.

"Well, I do like to consider myself exceptionally charming to a lot of mammals, but you're definitely a first," Nick said with an amused and sarcastic snarky tone, immediately catching Chief Bogo by momentary surprise, only for him to let out the heaviest and most aggravated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his snout as though trying to work away an oncoming migraine from the fox's terrible attempt at a joke; especially during such a serious moment.

"Oh, God, you're going to be like this all the time, aren't you?" Bogo muttered under his breath just as Nick stepped through the doorway, leaving the exasperated chief alone in the hall.

As Nick returned to Judy's bedside, he immediately noticed the practically ecstatic look on her face as she looked like she was practically ready to start hopping out of bed in sheer joy.

"Well, I'm guessing 'Tall, Dark and Hairy' didn't rain too much fire and brimstone on you, no?" Nick asked in amusement as Judy suddenly threw her little arms around his shoulders and pulled him in hard for a joyous hug which he was momentarily too surprised to return.

"They're going to reinstate me, Nick! They're letting me back into the ZPD!" Judy was practically squealing with excitement as Nick gave her a congratulatory pat on her fuzzy little head. Once again, he found her exceptionally adorable looking this giddy, like a little kit on Christmas morning.

"Congratulations, Carrots. You get your dress blues back just when I was starting to get used to this farmers' daughter look you had going on. At least promise you won't go around blackmailing anymore mammals while out on the streets," Nick said with his typical sarcastic tone as Judy let him go; her face still beaming with absolute optimism.

"Well, I would, but I don't have my pen anymore, remember?" Judy asked as Nick instantly grinned even more as he began to reach for his back pocket, only to realize the carrot pen wasn't there anymore.

"Too slow on the draw there, crafty fox," Judy teased as she saw the surprisingly hilarious look of dumbfounded surprise on Nick's face as he started patting himself down, only to look at her in amazement.

"You sly bunny, you swiped it off me when I didn't even notice, didn't you?" Nick asked in fake surprise as he thought back to when he slipped back into his pocket when Bogo was giving him the death stare earlier. That was the perfect chance for her to swipe it while he was distracted.

"Well, I picked up the skill by being around the best, didn't I?" Judy said with an equally pretend proud tone as she and Nick both broke out into laughter at just how much they were both starting to rub off on each other. Nick had never displayed to her any skills as a pickpocket, but apparently being around one as shifty and streetwise was still managing to provide the little country bunny with some pointers on how to get around in this crazy city.

"In all seriousness though, I had to give it to Chief Bogo. It's the perfect evidence to put Bellwether away and finally put this whole case to bed," Judy said in her usual seriousness this time once she and Nick had finally gotten the laughs out of their systems. The look Nick had couldn't be described as anything other than satisfaction as he collapsed into the chair at her bedside once more.

"So then…it really is all over now? For real this time?" Nick asked without any trace of sarcasm or snark as Judy collapsed back into her bed; feeling light as a feather now that she knew there was nothing left to worry about from this case anymore.

"Yeah…it is. It's finally over. We saved the city, Nick. WE did it," Judy finally said with a heavy and contented yet tired sigh as she turned herself over to lock eyes with Nick as they both seemed to finally let the fatigue of this unbelievable day catch right up to them.

"Not half bad for a carrot farmer and a pawpsicle hustler, huh?" Nick asked rhetorically as Judy couldn't help but giggle at such a ridiculous yet true summary of everything they went through today.

"I think we should be keeping our eyes on the news for the next few days. There's gonna be a lot of changes happening pretty soon," Judy said before letting out an exhausted yawn and settling herself deeper under her bedsheets as she felt all her energy fading away at long last.

"Well, you just focus on getting better in the meantime, Carrots. I'm sticking around until you're up and hopping again, no matter what you or anyone else says. You're not getting rid of me that easily," Nick said in a tone so blatantly matter-of-fact and out of nowhere, it couldn't help but earn an amused giggle from Judy before she finally closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep once more; that warm, contented smile gracing her muzzle once again.

Everything had turned out miraculously today, and if the chief was able to follow through with what Judy asked, the good times were only going to continue for as long as she could possibly hope for. She only hoped it wouldn't take too long, because she wanted nothing more than to see the look on Nick's face when it would finally happen.


	3. Return

**Hello, everyone. I cannot tell you all how grateful I am for all your support. It really means a world of difference to me to know such a great community has been loving this story so far. I really like to hear what you all think, and to hear some of you express what a great understanding of the characters I've displayed thus far has to be one of the greatest compliments I've ever received. Thank you all so much, and I hope to be able to keep this series of stories going for a good long time for all of you. And as such, I hope you'll all enjoy this new chapter.**

 **Unfortunately, there may be a slight delay on Chapter 4, since the end of my college semester is looming, an obstacle I know many of us are all too familiar with. But regardless, I'm going to do everything in my power to get Chapter 4 out to you guys in a reasonable amount of time. I have so much inspiration for later on in this story, and the sequels to follow, and I'm not going to let this project fall by the wayside like I've done so many times before.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I can't wait to hear what you all think.**

 **Zootopia and its characters don't belong to me, they belong to Disney.**

To say the following three days had been quite eventful for Zootopia was nothing short of a gross understatement. Judy knew that revealing Bellwether's involvement in the predators going savage would be big news for the public, but she didn't realize just how big it would be. Her biggest worry for a while had been that the public would discredit the truth as a lie or some kind of anti-prey propaganda; but fate decided to take a more pleasant turn, and it sounded like the people were starting to unify now that the Night Howlers were no longer being used. Of course, no savage attacks over the last couple days really helped.

Granted there had been a handful of protestors gathered at City Hall for a short while crying out for a complete reform of Zootopia's government, specifically calling for full background checks of any and all mammals holding distinct political positions of power in the city for any past anti-prey or anti-predator sentiment; most likely to prevent someone like their former assistant mayor gaining the highest position and doing something similar or God-forbid even worse. But thankfully that worry was quickly snuffed out as quickly as it had arrived as virtually every individual in City Hall gave their clear statements that they viewed all mammals as equals.

All the while, while the city was slowly fixing itself from the inside out with peace rallies and charity and benefit events practically coming out of the woodwork in celebration of mammal unity; Judy was steadily getting ready to finally get out of the hospital and get one step closer to finally rejoining the ZPD. Just as he had promised, Chief Bogo had managed to convince City Hall to re-enlist her, and it wasn't even a day before she'd been presented her original yet freshly pressed uniform and badge in the hospital, as though they had been holding onto it just for her return. It proved to be yet another of Nick's examples of bunnies being so naturally emotional, as it almost seemed like she wouldn't be able to stop crying with joy that afternoon.

Of course, even if Bogo hadn't done anything, she had no doubt the results would've been the same, because as soon as the news had revealed her and Nick to be the ones to uncover Bellwether's conspiracy, pretty much the entire city turned up to City Hall to request she be re-accepted to their police force. It was just like everyone had told her: she was a hero to these mammals, and they were showing it in abundance.

The last two days had pretty much been nothing but flowers and gifts of gratitude being brought to the hospital for Judy on behalf of the people. Surprisingly enough some had even been addressed to Nick, despite him not even being a cop, let alone an average law-abiding citizen. But of course he was never one to pass up being given free stuff; and even though he never admitted it, Judy could tell from the deeply emotional glimmer in his eyes whenever he looked upon the flowers being given to him that he felt incredible to actually be referred to as a hero by the same people he used to make a living out of ripping off.

The days seemed to both fly by and pass unbearably slowly. The anticipation and elation with all the news coverage of prey and predators alike finally joining together in peace was counterbalanced by the unbearable boredom of being stuck in the same hospital room morning, noon and night. Judy knew she had no choice but to stay here, but there was no reason for Nick to suffer with her, no matter how many times he said he was going to stick around until she was cleared to leave. Yet no matter how many times she urged him to at least go out and get some sleep in his own home, his response would always be the same: "If I leave, who else is going to make sure you don't die of boredom by yourself?"

God bless him, Judy loved how he was choosing to be so loyal to her and his word, but that answer just got more and more on her nerves; despite it all being because she couldn't stand being cooped up here for much longer. But thankfully, today that was finally going to end.

"Alright, Ms. Hopps, just one more stitch and it'll all be over," the doctor said, assuring the bunny as she kept staring up at the ceiling wide-eyed, clutching onto Nick's paw with a surprisingly strong grip. She couldn't feel anything, but it was just the thought that right now the doctor was pulling those ugly metal surgical staples out of her leg that gave her a nauseating, twisting sensation in her stomach. Fortunately, Nick was still there as always, giving her little paw a supportive little squeeze of his own to remind her she at least wasn't alone for this.

"Alright, and we're all done, Ms. Hopps. Looks like you're already healing up quite nicely," the doctor said with a hint of satisfaction as Judy hesitantly sat herself back up against the wall to get a look at her leg. She was greeted with a completely visible scar running up the length of her shin that stood out completely against her gray fur. She couldn't help but grimace to see the entire thing had already scabbed over. Granted it meant bleeding or infection was no longer as much of an issue, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant to look at.

"Aw, cheer up, Carrots. I'm sure there's some male bunny out there that's really into scars," Nick couldn't help but tease when he saw the uncomfortable look on Judy's face. She couldn't even bring herself to lightly jab him in the arm for his quips and instead just let out an aggravated groan in response.

"Pay no mind to Mr. Wilde's lackluster sense of humor, Ms. Hopps. I've seen much worse scars than this heal over completely with time. Your fur will have this all covered up before you know it, and who knows, it'll probably have already healed over by then," the doctor said in reassurance as Judy remained silent, just hoping that he would indeed be right about that.

"Now, I'm clearing you to go home today, Ms. Hopps, but I'm not sending the verification for your going into field duty to the ZPD just yet. While minor, we can't deny that your leg did suffer damage, so you'll be looking at a week or two of daily physical therapy to help ease yourself back into your regular routine for your work," the doctor said as a zebra nurse suddenly came in with a wheelchair, instantly catching the doctors' attention.

"Hospital policy dictates that all patients need to be wheeled out the door with no exceptions. With your condition, I'd say you're in good enough health to use crutches. Nurse, could you grab a pair, please?" the doctor asked the nurse, who quickly nodded and hurried out before the doctor brought the wheelchair to Judy's bedside.

"Um, doctor, what exactly did you mean by 'physical therapy'? What is that going to entail precisely?" Judy asked in both nervousness and curiosity. As hard as it might've been to believe considering she grew up in the country and had numerous rowdy siblings, this had actually been the first time the grey bunny had ever hurt one of her limbs, so this had been a part of medical procedure she'd never had any experience with before. When they taught trainees at the academy how to treat injuries, it was usually field medic stuff on the spot, nothing as long-term as this.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. It's mainly just something to help ease our patients back into their daily physical routines without aggravating any injured extremities or risking any further damage from over exertion. In your case, it's just going to be steady processes of helping your leg get back into its regular physical condition. Think of it as a means of helping your muscles get back into the shape they were before so you can walk, run, hop, kick or whatever else you can think of just as well as you could before.

"Since the surgery fixed pretty much everything else, you'll just need to ease yourself slowly back into your regular condition. You'll mainly want to test and see how much weight you can put on that leg before it starts to hurt. If you do that on regular intervals each day, specifically for a half hour every morning, noon and evening, you'll gradually be able to put more weight on it until you can put your whole bodies weight on it like you normally would. You can also practice some routine stretches I can write out for you to test the flexibility, since being bedridden for three days can lead to some unwanted stiffness. If you want, I could assign you a physical therapist here for you to visit each day for these exercises," the doctor offered as Judy looked significantly reassured of just what she would have to be doing. Already she couldn't wait for this whole period to be over so she could be back on her feet and ready to continue her life as a real cop again.

"Excuse me, doctor, but how complicated would these exercises necessarily be? And how would she go about practicing putting weight on her leg if she has to go around on crutches?" Nick suddenly asked with a peculiar hint of curiosity, catching both Judy and the doctor's considerable attention.

"Well, it's nothing too complicated at all, really. It's not like Ms. Hopps is going to be doing yoga exercises for this. It's just some necessary motions to get that leg nice and limber again. As for the weight exercises; if she were alone, she could always lie on the floor with the afflicted leg pointing to a wall and she could practice pushing the foot against the wall. Of course if she isn't alone, a second party could just act as a kind of springboard for her to put her weight against. Since you decided to ask, Mr. Wilde, are the two of you…living together?" the doctor asked as Nick and Judy both immediately went wide-eyed at such a sudden turn of questioning as they both immediately denied it.

"Well then, she could just practice with the previous method I described. I can grab some manuals to better explain if that helps. Just a minute," the doctor said as he immediately left the room before Judy could talk him down from doing so. For the next few minutes, the fox and bunny couldn't think of anything else to say. Judy's previous enthusiasm for finally getting out of the hospital had unexpectedly dimmed somewhat. She was glad to finally be able to get some fresh air, but one thought that had somehow slipped her mind had now come back with full force and left an uncertain and dreaded feeling in her stomach.

When she'd resigned from the ZPD, she'd packed her bags to go back home to Bunnyburrow. When she'd left to pursue her lead on the Night Howlers, she didn't once think that she would be accepted back so readily. But now that her career had officially been set, she realized she'd completely forgotten about living arrangements entirely. There was no way that armadillo landlady at the Grand Pangolin Arms was just going to let her back in to a vacant apartment on such short notice. The first time around she'd had to put the deposit down on her old place nearly a month in advance, and even then she'd just gotten lucky.

"I don't know if you knew this, Carrots, but your nose twitches way more than usual when you think this hard," Nick suddenly said, snapping Judy out of her thoughts as she couldn't help but feel embarrassed she'd completely forgotten he was there for a second.

"Sorry, Nick. I just hadn't had the chance to stop and think about a place to stay now that I'm back with the ZPD. My old apartment building was hard enough to get, and I had to secure that way more ahead of time than what I have now," Judy said without making any effort to hide how really worried she was about this. There were no dorms at the precinct to consider, and the ones at the ZPD Academy were for trainees only. Daily commute from Bunnyburrow to Zootopia was absolutely out of the question: it would be way too time consuming and expensive in the long run.

"Wow, Carrots. You'd almost think I wasn't here, to listen to you worry that fuzzy little head of yours," Nick said in pretend offense as Judy was momentarily clueless to just what he was talking about.

"I know I once said you'd eventually wind up living in a box under a bridge, but come on, you've got a solution sitting right here in front of you now," Nick elaborated as he had to practically resist the urge to motion his own paws to himself to emphasize his point. All at once, Judy's ears nearly bolted upright as her violet eyes went wide and she couldn't help but feel her grey fuzzy cheeks growing warmer once it all clicked in her head.

"Nick…a-are you suggesting…that I stay at YOUR place?" Judy asked as though she actually needed to get the words out to make sure she wasn't just hearing things.

"No, Carrots, I'm suggesting you hole up in the back of Finnick's van. Honestly, such big ears, you'd think you wouldn't miss a thing anyone says. Yes, I'm suggesting you stay with me," Nick said in amusement as he honestly loved seeing Judy this flustered. This had probably been the only time a male of any species had ever offered her anything remotely similar to this, and her reaction was like that of a high school freshman being asked out by the local heart throb.

He honestly couldn't believe it himself, every time he thought the little bunny couldn't get any cuter; she somehow kept finding a way to prove him wrong.

"I-I don't know, Nick. Do…do you really think that's a good idea?" Judy hesitantly asked as she was too embarrassed to look Nick in the eye. It was so strange, the academy had helped her mentally prepare for virtually any situation and how to properly respond to one, but social situations were beyond that realm of expertise, and even then, she'd never learned how to respond to THIS.

"Oh, Carrots, if you're scared of me eating you in the middle of the night, I can assure you: from what I tasted back at the museum, I don't think rabbit suits me," Nick said sarcastically, and Judy couldn't help but visibly grimace in distaste that he would actually think to joke about that. Of course she could never bring herself to feel negative towards him for more than a few seconds. She knew his tasteless jokes and constant sarcasm were just his way of coping with everything, and she'd be lying if she said his wit didn't tend to make her smile.

"No, it's just…do you really think it would work? I mean, I'm a cop again, and you're still technically a—" Judy tried to say in better detail; the already miniscule confidence in her words quickly evaporating when she saw the flickering of what she feared was offense in Nick's eyes at what she was implying.

"Carrots, don't tell me you forgot your little promise three days ago already. You promised no—"Nick was about to say in reprimand before Judy let out a frustrated groan and buried her face in her paws.

"I know, I'm sorry! I just…I just don't know what to say to this, Nick! I've never had any mammal offer me something like this before, let alone a male! I-I'm at a loss for once here," Judy apologized as Nick let out an understanding sigh and pulled her into another hug.

"'Thank you' has always worked. Don't worry though, Carrots. Believe it or not, I do understand. Little police academy bookworm like you probably never had any social interaction with males' period, let alone having one offer you to live with them. I guess I should've applied the brakes first, huh?" Nick said reassuringly as Judy seemed to relax in his paws once again, almost as though he somehow had the magic touch.

As much as Judy hated to admit it, that clever fox was actually right on the money. She'd pretty much spent her whole life devoting herself to her dream to the point that she pretty much ignored the social gatherings and events all her friends took part in. Thinking back on it now, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed that it wasn't until now at the age of 24 that she was experiencing that flustered feeling every high school female went through, and it was at the paws of her best friend of all mammals.

"Are you really okay about this, Nick? You've already done so much, and I don't want to impose on you. I can use some of my savings to help pay for rent if that helps at all, and I could save up some more to afford my own place so you don't have to accommodate me forever," Judy asked in a much shyer tone than she'd intended, getting every worry on her mind out in the hopes of making her acceptance more justifiable to herself.

"You know, just because I never paid my taxes doesn't mean I was never holding onto what I made. I had it saved up for rent, Pawpsicle sticks and other necessary expenses just in case, so you don't have to worry about that just yet," Nick said as Judy's ears once again dropped down as she bowed her head, her face somehow showing signs of both adorable shyness and that childlike fluster. She almost had trouble wrapping her head around it. Yeah, Nick was a fantastic fox and without a doubt her best friend, but even best friends would hesitate at least a little bit before offering to let someone stay in their home without having to pay rent from the start. Instinct almost made her want to ask what Nick would be getting out of this, but she knew that would've just offended him even more than her near-slip of the tongue just a minute ago.

"Thank you, Nick. I…I-I really can't describe how much this means to me," Judy said in barely more than whisper as she felt her ears growing warmer with each word. She couldn't believe what a stroke of good fortune this had just been. Not only did she not have to worry about housing anymore, but she'd even get to be by her best friends' side on a daily basis now. Say what you will about what happens when two mammals have to spend prolonged periods of time together and what that does to their moods; but as far as she was concerned, she couldn't have asked for a better living situation, and she could of course fill in the paperwork for her bills, paychecks, taxes etc. to be sent there too, at least provided her new roommate didn't mind.

"Knowing you, I'm sure you'll find a way to sooner or later. Besides, wasting away in a hospital with you has been so much fun, why stop with you getting out?" Nick asked sarcastically as Judy couldn't help but laugh into his shoulder as she finally held onto him in return.

"Snarky fox," Judy said amusedly, her words muffled into his shirt as Nick couldn't help but grin again at their continued little game of nicknames for each other when all other words failed.

"Flustered bunny," Nick teased as Judy quickly let go of him and shot him an annoyed but still undeniably happy glance, hoping he couldn't see how much she was blushing, not just from him making fun of how shy she'd gotten but how she'd initially reacted to getting to live with him to begin with.

"*ahem* I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," that powerful voice that only Chief Bogo could command suddenly pierced the air, immediately bringing bunny and fox alike to full attention as he stood filling the doorframe almost perfectly.

"Oh, sir, I'm sorry, we didn't even notice," Judy hastily said in apology as the chief had an unsettlingly unreadable expression, making it impossible to tell if he was even offended or not.

"Good afternoon, chief. You're looking more bulky and pleasant than usual," Nick said with even thicker sarcasm than he normally did whenever the buffalo would drop by. The chief didn't even give him the courtesy of a groan of aggravation before stepping further into the room to tower over them both.

"That sharp tongue of yours clearly hasn't lost any edge, Mr. Wilde," Chief Bogo said in as patient and peaceful a manner as he could force himself to as Judy and Nick exchanged knowing glances with each other. The last three days had certainly helped the fox to recognize when it would be best for him to leave the room if nothing else.

"You know the drill, Carrots," Nick called to Judy before quickly stepping outside lest the ZPD chief suffer an aneurysm from having to listen to any more of his snarky quips. Once the door shut closed, the chief let out a sigh of aggravation so deep; Judy would've sworn it could make the room shake.

"I hope for all our sakes you can manage to keep that wit of his in check, Hopps. That's all I can think to say about it anymore," Bogo finally said as he collapsed into Nick's seat; nursing his temples with his hooves as if he'd been suffering an unbearable headache for hours now.

"Is everything alright, sir? I've been up to date on news of what's been going on throughout the city, but I would've thought you'd be…well, happier if that were the case," Judy asked, hesitant to bring up the only other possibility for Bogo's sour disposition.

"That's all well and good, no question, Hopps. It's Bellwether's trial that's been giving us more trouble than we'd initially expected. She'd taken some considerable precautions for just this kind of situation, and so her legal team has been making the process of her trial much rougher than we hoped," the chief said with some considerable exhaustion evident in the way he spoke. Clearly he and many others involved in the process had likely been up for the last three days without any sleep to make sure the case against Bellwether was rock solid. If any slip up were to result in that devious little sheep being allowed to go free, Judy knew her first course of action would be to somehow go after her and Nick.

"Don't fret just yet, Hopps. I didn't say anything about losing this trial. Her lawyers have just been making the process much more difficult, but we still have all the evidence you, Wilde and her alike have provided us. We just need to hope her defense will slip up sooner rather than later, and we can finally close the book on this bloody matter once and for all," Bogo said once he saw how nervous Judy looked to even think about what would happen if Bellwether were to get the upper hand. If she was going to be back on the force, the last thing he was going to have was her being unsettled or even paranoid over anything.

"Thankfully, I'm not just bringing you semi-bad news. We did manage to round up the last of Bellwether's cohorts last night; thanks to some tips the ones we have in custody were able to give us. Apparently, he was developing the Night Howlers and was even the one attacking the predators to begin with. I suppose he caught wind of his boss' arrest and was worried his partners would sell him out, because some of our officers caught him trying to flee the city through Sahara Square. Hopefully the testimony we got out of him will be just what we need to make her defense completely crumble and we can get a verdict by tonight," Bogo said with some undeniable relief that he could finally get some good news out, silently glad to see Hopps visibly calm down that at least none of Bellwether's thugs were on the loose anymore.

"I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on the news for that, sir. The sooner this whole business gets put behind us, the sooner we can get back to protecting the city again," Judy said enthusiastically; once again feeling that underlying adrenaline at the thought of getting back in the field come in droves.

"Well, I'm glad to see the sterility of this place hasn't dampened that enthusiasm. The doctor's going to keep me informed of when you'll officially be cleared to be back on duty," the buffalo said supportively as he got back up to reach into his pocket.

Before Judy knew it, Bogo was holding out a single white envelope in his hoof, and the sight of it made her violet eyes slowly widen and an ecstatic smile spread on her muzzle as she hesitantly reached for it. However, once she got a hold of it, the chief didn't let go.

"I want to trust in your judgment with this, Hopps. Before I let go, I just need to know how sure you are of this," Bogo said with that trademark stern and authoritative tone as his gaze nearly seemed to be trying to read the bunny's emotions, as if trying to test her resolve.

"Sir, I've wanted to be a cop my whole life. Nothing meant more to me than that. This is the only other thing I've ever been as certain of. I swear you won't regret this," Judy said without any hesitation as Chief Bogo remained silent for a few more seconds before finally letting go of the envelope and watching as Judy was practically resisting the urge to hug it to her chest before carefully slipping it into her jeans pocket.

"Very well then. I just hope you decide to follow through with it sooner rather than later. We always need officers like you on the streets, and I'd much prefer not to have to worry about you taking your time with this," Bogo instructed as he began to leave the room as Judy could barely contain her excitement now that everything the chief had promised was fulfilled.

"Sir, before you go, I've been wondering: if Bellwether is sent to prison, then who's going to run Zootopia? Are they going to let Mayor Lionheart go free now that he's been proven innocent?" Judy asked as the buffalo looked to be struggling to find a way to answer her.

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that right now. He's been found innocent in regards to any allegations involving the predators going savage. However, despite the citizens rallying for him to come back to City Hall, he's decided to ride out his sentence for imprisoning the predators until the court gives the date for his parole hearing, so until then everyone at City Hall has decided to form something of a council to evenly divide the responsibilities for running the city and appeasing the citizens until his release," Bogo said as Judy honestly couldn't help but feel impressed. She didn't know the former mayor of Zootopia even remotely well, but to hear so many mammals throughout her life talk about politicians, she'd had an underlying impression that they all simply told the masses what they wanted to hear and were solely out for their own best interests in terms of their careers. And of course, hearing Lionheart express concern for his position as mayor when it came to telling the public about the savage predators didn't help his case either.

However, now that he was essentially in the clear, Judy would've thought he'd take the first chance at freedom he could get. But no, instead he was choosing not to take a handout and instead face up to the consequences of his actions until the justice system decided he'd served his punishment. Honesty, or maybe even integrity like that was no doubt rare in those that played the politics game, but he'd clearly shown he was an exception.

"If that's all, Hopps, then I'll leave you and Mr. Wilde to your personal affairs. There's still much work to be done. Keep me informed of your progress; and in terms of living situations, the sooner you can provide your new address, the sooner we can get that bunch of paperwork out of the way so you'll officially be back on payroll," Bogo informed as he didn't waste another second before heading for the door. Judy could only give him a grateful and understanding nod as her paw instinctively went back to her pocket to make sure that special envelope was still there. Just thinking about it sparked intense warmth in the bunny's chest. She couldn't wait to see the look on Nick's face when she'd finally bring it up.

Just as soon as the buffalo chief was gone, Nick slipped back inside almost as though he were just waiting outside the door, which Judy momentarily hoped he hadn't. She definitely wanted this to be a surprise, and she wanted it to be at the perfect moment, whenever that would be would become clear when she found it.

"Well, I didn't think it was possible, but you somehow look even giddier than before. Did the giant poster child for lightening up just forfeit his job to you?" Nick asked amusedly as Judy had to resist the urge to whip out the envelope right there.

"Oh no, nothing like that. Twenty-four hour press conferences and desk work like that somehow sounds even more insufferable than lying around here all day. He just wanted to assure me Bellwether's not going to have any chance of getting out of the hot water she's in, that's all," Judy quickly denied as Nick quickly slung one of her arms over his shoulders and helped lift her up and settle her down into the wheelchair, even taking extra care to gently set her leg into upraised rest the nurse earlier had set up. Just as soon as she was settled, Nick even took the courtesy of laying her neatly folded ZPD uniform in her lap.

"Oh, in quite the hurry to leave, I see. Not that I can necessarily blame you after dealing with these surroundings for three days. I'd personally pick any paint job other than this boring white. Add some vibrancy to the place for goodness sake," the doctor suddenly said from the doorway as he hurried inside with a paw full of small pamphlets at the ready.

"Alright, Ms. Hopps. These are just some simple diagrams for the stretching exercises I want you to do. Pick any time in the morning, afternoon and evening and practice them for a good thirty minutes each day, and you'll be back in tip top shape in no time," the doctor explained as he handed Judy the pamphlets, which she immediately started looking over. They were fortunately nothing too fancy; in fact the majority of them looked like the same standard stretching workout routines she'd practiced back at the academy.

"And of course we don't want to forget these. Once you're outside the doors you can choose to start using them, or you can fill in a form at the front desk for the address you'll be heading to, and we can send someone over to collect the wheelchair. It's your choice," the doctor said further as the zebra nurse quickly returned with a small pair of crutches at the ready, which the doctor quickly handed to Judy as she draped them over her lap, finally ready to leave and get some much needed fresh air.

"Thank you so much for all your help, doctor, really. How long will it be until you send the bill?" Nick asked, causing Judy to momentarily wince in embarrassment. This was hardly the time or the place to suddenly bring THAT pleasant matter up.

"Neither of you have to worry about the expenses, Mr. Wilde. Originally the ZPD was going to forward the money to pay all the medical expenses, but you'd be amazed how much the citizens have been donating over the last few days to help cover it. A real sign of a city's gratitude for a couple of heroes if I do say so myself," the doctor said with what could only be admiration as he seemed to be giving them both a look of real respect and gratitude for how much they'd helped the city and its people now that it was finally time to say goodbye.

Both Nick and Judy momentarily locked eyes with each other in astonishment. With all the good fortune they'd been receiving, they almost felt lie it had to be some freakish planetary alignment for it all to be happening in one day.

"Now if you have any questions about the exercises or if you want to schedule any appointments, which we would have to do anyway to keep up to date on your healing progress, I put my personal extension in those pamphlets for you, Ms. Hopps. I look forward to hearing how you're doing over the next two weeks," the doctor finished with a great big smile as he and the nurse quickly stepped aside to allow Nick to finally start wheeling Judy out of the room. Once they were out in the hall, already it felt like Judy could finally breathe again; feeling like she'd been deprived of air for so long in that tiny room. Even the afternoon sunlight shining through the windows felt more pleasant on her fur than it ever had before.

As they progressed through the halls and down the elevator, everyone she and Nick passed by always seemed to be following their every move with their eyes, as if giving off a silent and mutual farewell to Zootopia's two unlikeliest heroes. In fact, they were both smiling to each other in the elevator ride down, as if they were both prepared for there to be a huge reception to greet them in the lobby.

But as amazing and borderline cliché as they knew that would've been, they both still couldn't help but let out a mutual sigh of relief to see everybody in the lobby going about their daily business as usual. Once Nick had finished taking a moment to fill out the address information at the front desk, the inseparable duo were finally stepping through the sliding glass doors, and Judy momentarily felt the need to cover her eyes from the unobstructed brightness of the sun shining down upon the bustling metropolis.

But still, all at once Judy felt light as a feather, taking in a deep breath of that refreshingly crisp, clean air she'd so longed for. All the while, Nick made no effort to hide how much it amused him to see her look to be in such bliss over something he personally found so mundane.

"You're not about to burst into song, are you, Cottontail? Involuntary audience isn't part of the roommate package," Nick joked as Judy gave him an exaggerated look of exhaustion.

"I think the people of Zootopia have had quite enough of me for quite some time. Right now I just wanna bask in the sun and enjoy the outside," she said in an unintentionally blissful and borderline dreamy tone that Nick couldn't help but feel the slightest bit caught off guard by. He was so used to seeing her completely serious, annoyed, joyous or emotional. Seeing her in this laid back, blissful state while basking in the glow of the sun made her look, for lack of a better word he failed to think of, inviting.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time for that, Carrots. We're a good distance from home, so you just sit back and relax," the fox humbly offered as he began to wheel her forward through the bustling city square among the massive crowds.

"Oh come on now, Nick, you don't have to do that. Let me just get my crutches ready and we can walk together no problem," Judy said as she began to situate her crutches underneath her arms, only for Nick to take them both from her paws and slip one of his arms through the gaps so they were hanging from his arm while he continued driving the wheelchair forward.

"Not today, Officer Fluff. You're my new roommate, and truthfully speaking, the first female I've ever invited to my humble abode, so at least allow me to drive you the whole way," Nick said in pretend protest as Judy instantly felt herself blushing again at such an unexpected confession on her dear fox friends' part.

"Oh my, Mr. Wilde. I'm the very first? I feel so honored," she teased in an attempt to hide that pesky fluster she was once again feeling as she kept her gaze locked on the ground.

"What can I say? Most females don't find the idea of shacking up with a criminal all that appealing," Nick said in an attempt to humor her as he too tried to avoid making eye contact, as he too was starting to feel an embarrassing kind of nervousness now that the truth of the matter was finally fully registering to him. Having Judy living with him sounded like tons of fun in concept, but there was no going back now. This was actually going to happen, and he was now feeling his fur beginning to stand on end with the anxiety and uncertainty of what was to come.

"Well, I guess I just believe in living on the 'Wilde' side," Judy said with an all-too obvious snark in her tone, earning a joking groan from Nick that made her instantly start laughing that she'd finally managed to get him with a terrible joke for once.

"Carrots, if you were anyone else right now, I'd be looking for the nearest downward slope to send you racing down for that joke alone. Don't forget who's essentially driving right now, so don't give me any ideas," Nick said in an overdramatically authoritative and reprimanding tone, almost as if he were trying to channel an exaggerated impression of Chief Bogo that just made Judy laugh even more.

"Oh, wow, Nick. You really are getting too much enjoyment out of this, aren't you?" Judy asked rhetorically as she leaned back into her chair and looked up to see the upside down face of Nick wearing that irresistible sly grin she'd found herself coming to adore each time she saw it. If nothing else, it was her instant way of recognizing that everything between them was A-Okay.

"Do I enjoy getting to basically wheel you anywhere I want and you essentially can't say or do anything about it? Yes. Yes, I do," Nick said in that 'question-question-answer' way she'd come to expect from him, yet another one of those ways she'd come to find his seemingly limitless wit endearing, if not somewhat charming.

"Well enjoy it while you can. Now take me home, dear Nicholas," Judy asked in a melodramatic manner as though pretending she were a pampered diva; a role so polar opposite of what she really was, Nick almost busted a gut trying to resist laughing at how ridiculous she sounded.

"As you wish, Madam Hopps, I only live to serve," Nick said in as pompous an accent as he could attempt as he and Judy both burst out laughing at how ridiculous they must've both looked to anyone paying attention to them.

Once they were finally rolling down a much less busy street, Judy's cellphone suddenly started vibrating with the accompaniment of an all-too familiar jingle ringtone. Pulling it out, she was instantly met with the notification of 'Mom & Dad' greeting her on the screen. It was to be expected. Ever since the day the news revealed her and Nick to be the ones to bring the Night Howlers to light, her parents were pretty much lighting up her phone nearly every hour on the hour, either to congratulate her for the millionth time or to check she was perfectly okay for the ten billionth time.

In fact, she was beyond certain that if it weren't for the fact they had to look after the family farm and her 275 siblings, her entire family would've no doubt all packed into the first train for Zootopia to see her. But then again, that would've no doubt led to more than a few dozen missing little bunnies wandering off, and not to mention the 'pleasant' news of introducing Nick to her parents personally. Sure, their previous prejudice towards foxes had died down in a much bigger way than she initially had thought was possible for them, but that occasion didn't directly involve one of their own children.

"Okay, Nick, please don't say anything, okay?" Judy asked nervously as Nick ran one of his paw pads along his muzzle to indicate his mouth was zipped shut. With a deep and uncertain breath, Judy hit the accept button and was immediately met by Bonnie and Stu Hopps nearly pressing their faces to the camera.

"Oh, Judy, sweetheart, there you are! We were beginning to wonder if you'd answer," Bonnie said with obvious relief as Judy instantly smiled to hear her parents overly worried yet altogether loving voices again.

"Hi Mom, Hi Dad. Yeah, I'm sorry about that, one of the nurses is helping me get to my new place, and I had to struggle to get the phone out my pocket. I'm just fine, don't worry," Judy said reassuringly as her parents exchanged looks of gratitude with each other for the good news.

"Yes, the doctor informed us you were being let out today. Are you sure you're feeling well enough for that? Are you sure you don't need to stay there for another day or two?" Stu asked as Judy instantly cringed at the very thought of staying in that room for another minute, let alone another couple days.

"I'm perfectly fine, Dad, don't worry. I'd tell you if I wasn't. How are you and everyone else doing?" Judy asked as Bonnie and Stu kept looking over their shoulders, and Judy could see nearly a handful of her siblings crowding around behind them, and it was clear they were trying to keep the kids from grabbing for the phone all at once.

"Everything's just fine here, honey. The kids all send their best wishes for you to get better," Bonnie said as she lifted her phone just a bit so the kids could actually wave at their big sister and all wish her well in unison; to which Judy couldn't help but laugh in touched amusement, and Nick all the while had to resist the urge to somehow pipe in, his steadfast composure broken by seeing so many tiny bunnies on a tiny screen all at once. Just thinking about facing that fuzzy onslaught in person nearly gave him chills, and that wasn't even one-seventh of them from what he was guessing.

"Congratulations on being let back into the ZPD, Jude the Dude. We all know how much it still means to you, after all," Stu piped in once Bonnie managed to keep the kids from crowding them.

"Yes, and did you say you got a new place to stay? Oh, that's wonderful; we were worried what to do about that if they were going to re-accept you," Bonnie piped in as Judy tried to keep the truth of her new living arrangement secret.

"Yeah, don't worry. Luckily, something really good opened up at just the right time," she said as she shot Nick a grateful and knowing glance; one that her parents fortunately didn't seem to notice.

"But Judy, if you're still going to be recovering, is it really alright for you to be alone over all that time? Shouldn't there be someone to at least help you take care of yourself?" Stu asked concernedly. Oh, how badly did Nick want to finally join the conversation, his bunny roommate's parents were making the temptation unbearable.

"It's okay. I already arranged for one of the nurses to pay me daily visits to help me with my physical therapy. Trust me, everything's fine now," Judy lied; a twisting of guilt stirring in her chest as her parents seemed to completely believe her.

"We trust you, sweetie, and we're just glad to know you'll be okay. Since you have a new place, we were thinking about dropping by soon and throwing you a housewarming party now that we know you'll be alright," Bonnie said with clear excitement; and for a second Nick and Judy both felt a chill go up their spines and their eyes go wide.

"Oh, no, no, you all don't need to do that just yet! I really would love to see you all again, but I'd really like to just focus on getting all better first. I hope you understand," Judy said in desperate protest; hating having to lie to her parents like this.

"Oh, of course we understand, Judy. You just let us know whenever you're ready and we'll all come by as soon as possible," Bonnie said in compromise as bunny and fox alike let out sighs of relief that that bullet had just been dodged.

"Alright, you guys, I'm almost to my new place and I have a lot of settling in to do, so I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I love you all so much, bye," Judy said before hitting the 'end call' button; collapsing back against her chair as she noticed the sly grin still painting Nick's muzzle.

"I'm surprised at you, Carrots. I never would've figured you for such a natural liar. And to your own parents even," Nick joked as Judy instantly groaned at the sense of guilt she was still feeling.

"Ugh, don't rub it in, please. You know we're eventually going to have to introduce you to them, and the sooner we can stop worrying about that, the better," Judy said in both annoyance and anxiety as Nick just chuckled at the prospect of finally meeting his Carrots' family and seeing all their eyes go so wide at the prospect of him and her sharing the same roof. They'd probably never seen anything remotely like that in the sticks of Bunnyburrow. Of course, if the introduction were to take place on their home turf, he'd probably have to start working on his cardio lest he face the wrath of an adorable and fuzzy angry mob.

 **About an hour later**

Judy found herself being wheeled through the clean halls of a standard apartment complex inside an unassuming red brick building in a typical middle-class neighborhood on the outer edges of the City District that made up the heart of Zootopia. As much as she didn't want to say so, she had assumed that Nick would be living in a relatively rundown neighborhood in a much shoddier apartment complex. She figured that if he had to resort to conning mammals to make a living, he'd have to live in such conditions, but from the looks of it he at least used his ill-gotten gains smartly.

"Well, Carrots, allow me to welcome you to Chateau le Wilde," Nick said as he quickly unlocked the door and threw it open before wheeling the grey bunny inside; and with a flick of a switch, she was very much surprised by what she saw.

For someone who got around and made as much money as Nick did, the place was…surprisingly sparse. It was by no definition of the word unlivable or even inhospitable. There was a modest kitchen built into the corner, the ceiling was a good height up above them since this apartment was on the top floor of 1955 Cypress Grove Drive. The lighting gave the place a very casual but relaxing atmosphere. The red brick walls were adorned with a handful of posters all throughout the main living space; mostly a bunch of musical acts like Koalavinsky **(Kavinsky)** , 2Paca **(2Pac)** , Elkton John and even Pig Floyd. A single leather couch sat in the middle of the living room in front of a decent flat screen, and all along the wall were several racks of DVD's and CD's of god-only-knew what kind of music.

"And you asked who still uses CD's, old fox," Judy teased as Nick shut the door behind them with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Ah, it's okay to make fun of being old fashioned when someone else does it. Now come on, might as well see the rest of the place," Nick said as he wasted no time wheeling her down the only hall leading to the back. Built into the left wall was a two-in-one washing machine and dryer, and on the right side was a relatively small bathroom. There was a second door on the right, but it was completely empty of absolutely anything. Upon seeing it, it was all too obvious to Judy this would eventually become her room if they were really going to go through with this. Finally, at the end of the hall was an impressively big master bedroom with a walk in closet built into the wall, and a single double-sized bed sitting right in the center in front of a smaller flat screen mounted onto the wall.

As all the details of her new home finally sank in, Judy couldn't help but feel an all new ecstatic joy starting to build up inside her again. This place was so much nicer than her old apartment, and getting to share it with Nick just made it feel all the better. But then, one thought brought her excitement to an instant halt: **there was only one bed, and there was no way Nick would've ordered for a new one to be moved in at any point today.**

"Well, what do you think?" Nick's question snapped Judy out of her thoughts as she looked to see the fox was unusually anxious to hear her thoughts of what he had to offer.

"Well, it definitely feels very cozy already. I just thought you would have all kinds of knick-knacks all over, like a pool table or a Jacuzzi or whatever else with the money you make," Judy said, trying so hard to pick her words carefully so she wouldn't come across as ungrateful or underwhelmed.

"Well, Zootopia's an expensive place to live, Carrots. If there's one thing I've learned in my line of work, it's that you make a point to hold onto as much cash as you can. I made good money, and the landlord didn't ask where it came from, so I just stocked myself with the essentials," Nick explained as he wheeled her back into the living room and helped hoist her up into the sofa before wheeling the chair back to the front door, no doubt to leave it in the lobby for when the hospital staff would come to collect it.

For the few minutes she was alone to soak in her new surroundings, Judy nearly felt the urge to squeal in excitement. In so many ways, today had to be one of the best days of her life. She never had to see that stuffy hospital room ever again, her dream job was hers again, and now she would be living with her best friend from now on. If she weren't so certain this was real, she'd almost want to pinch herself.

Her gaze soon fell upon her police uniform sitting right beside her. She could practically feel her fur bristling with excitement at the thought of putting it on again. In a strange sort of way, she almost felt naked without it. That uniform represented everything she ever wanted out of life, and to have it back again nearly made her want to start crying for joy again that everything had worked out so miraculously after a time she thought everything that mattered in her life was over and gone.

Taking the folded uniform into her paws, Judy couldn't help but feel amazed that the ZPD had actually held onto it for her despite her resignation. She'd figured they would've gotten rid of it first thing. But chances were probably they never got around to it over the week since her departure, with all the panic and disorder that had been erupting across the city at that time.

Running her paws over the smooth fabric of the uniform, she suddenly felt something within her utility belt. Turning it around to get a better look, Judy nearly felt her heart catch in her throat to see that tiny pink can of fox repellent was still sitting in its holster. Instant memories of how devastated she'd felt to see how much her involuntary reach for it had hurt Nick came back all at once.

She'd only taken that stupid thing to appease her parents before leaving, and that one action had ultimately cost her the best friend she could ever ask for. Just thinking about that made her realize just how lucky she was to have Nick back in her life. She doubted any other mammal would've been able to forgive her for betraying their trust like she unintentionally did to him; and just to see he had such a big heart to let her back into his life after that nearly made her start blushing furiously right there on the sofa. It was almost crazy to think that when they first met, she thought of him as nothing more than a criminal, but now she wouldn't trade him for anything else in the world.

"Hey, Carrots, plan on coming back to reality any time soon?" Nick suddenly asked; his voice so up close that Judy nearly hopped five feet in the air. Once she'd gotten back to her senses, she realized she'd gotten so lost in her reminiscing that she never even noticed the fox had come back nearly five minutes ago. But what else was that his green eyes were focused on the fox repellent she'd unconsciously taken out of the holster and was holding in her paws. She didn't even need to look close to see the bitterness that horrible thing was drawing out of Nick as he clearly was thinking back to when she nearly pulled it on him.

She tried to find the words to explain herself, but just like before, words were failing to come to her. She was practically struggling to breathe at the thought of Nick thinking she was going to use it on him. She never wanted to touch this horrid thing again, let alone ever actually use it.

As if all the resentment she felt towards herself for letting her childhood fear get the better of her and the sadness she felt for losing Nick before all bubbled up into one explosive moment, Judy reared her arm back and threw the fox repellent as hard as she could just to get it as far away from them as possible. The small can nearly shattered against the wall before it landed in a conveniently placed waste basket sitting at the foot of it.

Nick was only able to look on in surprise for a split second before Judy suddenly grabbed onto his necktie, forcefully pulling him down onto the sofa with her before she practically hopped into his lap, wrapping her little arms around his neck and burying her muzzle into his fur. The bewildered fox couldn't even get a word out before instinctively bringing his arms around the sweet little bunny's sides, holding her close as he could hear her beginning to sniffle and cry again.

"Never again, Nick. I never want to hurt you ever again," Judy sobbed into his fur as she felt him running his paw down her folded ears in comfort. As much as he was trying to keep his composure, Nick felt a swelling of emotion beginning to build up inside his chest as well. Even despite all his times of reassuring her of his forgiveness, to see her like this reminded him so vividly of how much losing him had devastated her, and to hear her being so emotional towards him had him involuntarily blushing in return.

No female of any species, not even his own with the exception of his mother, cared for him the way Judy so clearly did, and to know that she was always going to be by his side from now on almost made him want to shed a single masculine tear; just thinking about what a change this little bunny had made in his life. No longer did he feel the need to con unsuspecting mammals of their money every day to secure his own living. Judy had reignited that childlike desire to help others he thought had died within him so long ago. Now, he wanted to help make the world better for other mammals alongside her, even if he had to be on the opposite side of the law-enforcing spectrum in order to do it. He wanted to make a real positive difference alongside her.

For a few minutes that felt like hours, the two remained in each other's arms; Judy holding onto the fox as tight as she could as he kept stroking her ears and whispering words of reassurance to her that everything was going to be alright with them from now on.

Once they had finally let each other go was when they'd realized just how late it had suddenly gotten, nearly forgetting they didn't even get out of the hospital until well into the mid-afternoon.

Today had been such a tremendous one for both of them, Judy nearly forgot how she'd promised Chief Bogo how she was going to keep an eye on the news for the result of Bellwether's trial. Of course Nick didn't need any further convincing than that to turn on the TV and switch it to the right channel broadcasting it before quickly retreating into the kitchen to make popcorn for what he was already calling 'the show of a lifetime.'

The two were sitting together comfortably, munching down as if they were at the movies as the trial was clearly within its final moments as the jury was finally filing in. Gazing over the court, Judy instantly spotted Chief Bogo sitting among the crowd, specifically in the front row right behind where Bellwether herself was sitting.

"Huh, I guess it is true what they say. The camera really does add ten pounds, or in your boss' case, a hundred," Nick joked as the way the camera was set up made no effort to hide the fact that the ZPD chief was pretty much towering over everyone else in the rows around him.

Before Judy could throw in her own witty commentary about how Bellwether almost looked like a tiny wool-covered bowling ball thanks to Nick's observation, the judge on the TV silenced them and the courtroom alike as all attention turned to the jury.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the elephant judge asked as a single bison jury member stood up from the others.

"We have Your Honor. On an all-around 12-0 consensus from this jury of prey and predators alike, we find the defendant Dawn Bellwether, for charges of conspiracy, inciting inter-species hostility, framing an innocent mammal for her actions, and the attempted removal of incriminating evidence and attempted murder of Judy Hopps: guilty of all charges."

Nick nearly had to hold Judy down onto the sofa to keep her from hopping high up into the air to cheer as the courtroom seemed to nearly come alive with the buzz of the crowd all voicing their approval before the judge silenced them once again.

"Very well. Dawn Bellwether, by the power vested in me by this court of law, you are hereby sentenced to our maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment in a maximum security prison, with parole eligibility after the first 10 years. This court is adjourned. Bailiff, take her away," the judge ordered as the goat bailiff locked an extended pair of tiny handcuffs on Bellwether's hooves before guiding her by the adjoining chain down the aisle, no doubt a precaution to keep the accused from trying to escape in these occasions.

As immensely satisfying as it was to see justice served, Judy couldn't help but be slightly put off by the fact that Bellwether actually didn't look devastated or defeated at all. The little sheep's expression was in fact completely unreadable.

"Take it from someone who's had his fair share of run-ins with criminals, Carrots. She's just refusing everyone the satisfaction of seeing her beaten. But I think this is the last we're gonna see of old Smellwether for a very long time," Nick reassured Judy as she let out a heavy sigh of relief in his words as she then rested herself against his shoulder, finally able to completely accept that everything was gonna be okay from now on.

Shortly after that, the two couldn't deny any longer how exhausted they were after today. As Nick helped Judy get her crutches situated under her arms so she could get used to the feeling before practicing moving around the living room, an all-too prominent thought returned to her.

"Um, Nick, earlier I noticed there's only one bed here," she hesitated to say as she honestly had no idea just what the crafty fox watching her had in mind, since he clearly had thought of this beforehand, otherwise he might likely have never suggested this at all.

"Oh, you can consider the bed yours until we can get a second one moved into that empty space down the hall. Besides, I've spent more nights out here than in there," Nick didn't hesitate to say as Judy momentarily stopped her practice hobbling, a whole new dilemma now all too clear to her.

' _If I just accept that offer and have Nick sleep on the couch, it'd be like I'm taking full advantage of his hospitality. If we're going to live together, the last thing I want is to be rude.'_

' _But if I turn it down and offer to take the sofa instead, he might think I'm spitting on his hospitality. Oh, that'd be even worse!'_

' _But if I even try to offer we just share the bed…oh, sweet cheese and crackers, he'd NEVER let me hear the end of it! The jokes would never stop!'_

As painful as it was to accept, Judy knew there was no right answer to this. She legitimately couldn't win no matter what she decided to do here. After several tense moments of consideration, she finally let out a hesitant sigh as she made up her mind. Might as well go with the lesser of three evils.

"You know…if it's okay with you of course…I-I wouldn't mind…well, sharing with you," she struggled to say, just waiting for Nick to unleash the barrage of sarcastic and witty jokes at her expense. But instead, she was met with a look of genuine surprise from the otherwise always collected fox.

"Are you sure, Carrots? I mean, REALLY sure" he asked, almost as if he were afraid to cross some kind of unspoken boundary despite them being in his own home.

"Nick, you've already done so much for me these last few days, it's the very least I can do right now to share YOUR bed. And besides…you've been here for me this long already, so…" she attempted to explain; her ears burning hot with embarrassment as she nearly felt like stuffing her foot in her mouth with how her words were failing her already.

"Aww, Carrots, have you gotten so used to me being your personal wallflower, you can't stand to sleep alone? That's just adorable," Nick practically crooned with such thick pretend affection that it nearly made Judy's fur stand on end, this was so embarrassing.

Over the next several minutes while Nick was busy freshening himself up for the night, Judy was lying curled up as best she could in the bed, trying as best she could to calm herself that this was actually going to happen. It was hard to even tell if this was just her natural prey instinct of anxiety from being in such unbelievable contact with a predator, or if it was her female instincts going into complete overdrive that she was going to be sharing a bed with a male, and possibly even for more than one night.

' _It's okay, Judy, you've got this under control. This isn't anything weird; it's just an ordinary compromise. This is just the first night, you're just trying to get used to your new surroundings, that's all. It's not like Nick's going to do anything. Why are you even worrying about this kind of thing? First off, he's a fox and you're a bunny; there's no reason he'd try anything. And second, it's not like he feels THAT way for you or you for him. He's your best friend and you're his, and that's all there is to it. Nothing more and definitely nothing less. You got this.'_

Before she could continue to mentally talk herself down from having an anxiety attack, the lights to the room suddenly went off, causing her to naturally flinch before she heard the sound of Nick's paws stepping closer and closer until she felt the mattress shift as he climbed into the covers right behind her. She could practically feel his gaze on her, especially not helped by the fact he had natural night vision.

"You know if you keep shaking like that, Carrots; neither of us is gonna get any shut eye tonight," Nick piped in, miraculously making Judy go stiff as a board almost instantly, and that second of stillness finally allowed her body to fully experience just how incredibly soft and comfortable this bed actually was, a definite far cry from this stiff and uncomfortable excuses for beds at the hospital. Heck, it was even better than the bed she had back at the Grand Pangolin Arms.

Within seconds, Judy actually felt herself beginning to slip into unconsciousness; albeit right before she suddenly felt Nick shuffle closer to her from behind and brought his arms around her sides, pulling her in closer until they were practically spooning. Her ears were so hot at that moment, she feared they'd likely set the bed on fire. All the training in the world for any and all events never would've never been able to prepare her for this. And yet, as shy and speechless as this made her, she couldn't bring herself to tell the fox to let her go.

As unbelievable as it was for her to admit; being here in Nick's arms, sharing his bed with him in the comfort of his personal home, she actually felt…well and truly safe. In fact, this was probably the most comfortable and at ease she could ever remember herself feeling once she'd managed to slow her racing heartbeat enough to actually think straight.

Just when Judy was about to wish him good night, her ears could already pick up from the way he was now breathing that the fox had already fallen fast asleep, meaning he hadn't reached out to her just to make her flustered again. It was just like a natural impulse for him in his unconsciousness. And for some reason, just thinking about that fact brought a very touched smile to Judy's lips as she cuddled up closer to him and put her paws over his to help keep his grip on her for the night.

' _Sweet fox. I think I might already get used to this.'_ She thought happily to herself before finally closing her eyes and letting a real good night's sleep take her away. Now all she could think of was what the new day was going to bring her now that they were finally going to be able to start over at long last.


	4. Reassure

**Hey everyone, I'm back again, and here's Chapter 4 for all of you. Now some reviewers have pointed out that I may be moving too fast in terms of how I'm portraying how Judy and Nick are feeling towards each other, and it did bring up some interesting points to me. So I hope this chapter might help the pacing in that regard. Or it might not; depending on what you all end up thinking by the end. Either way, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter all the same. I once again want to thank all of you for your tremendous support on this story. You all make it worth it.**

 **Zootopia and its characters belong to Disney, not me.**

The glow of the morning sun shining in through the window onto the peaceful sleeping forms of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde in his spacious bedroom left them both basking in warmth so pleasant and different from what both were used to, it would've been nigh indescribable if they were even awake to try and describe it. Regardless, Judy instinctively let out a contented moan as she slightly squirmed where she lay as she felt herself beginning to wake up from the first truly great night's sleep she'd had in weeks. When she opened her eyes, even the sunlight had a much more welcoming glow to it now that it was shining into a room that wasn't that drab sterile white.

Letting out an almost silent yawn while rubbing the tiredness from her eyes, the bunny began to pull herself out of bed, only to feel a sudden weight around her torso weighing her down. Looking down, her ears immediately shot up to see Nick's paws wrapped around her, and for a split second, her fur nearly stood on end as she twisted herself around to find the fox sleeping practically right up against her. She immediately opened her mouth to tell Nick to let her go, but fortunately stopped herself when it instantly came back to her just how last night had ended, and more specifically where she was right now. She'd become so used to being in that stuffy hospital room (just that thought alone made her shudder) that she'd momentarily forgotten how she'd finally gotten out and was now staying with Nick in his home; something offered to her by no one but that sly but well-meaning fox and him alone.

Laying herself back down peacefully, watching his peaceful sleeping face; Judy found herself once more musing about everything they had gone through to lead them up to this point:

A lifetime wanting nothing more than to go to Zootopia to become a police officer, training and studying herself to the utter limits at the academy, the elation of graduation and being assigned to the ZPD and arriving in the city for the very first time, meeting Nick on her very first day of duty and confusing him for a loving father only to learn of his conning habits the hard way, blackmailing him into helping her find Emmett Otterton, the two of them nearly getting killed by Mr. Big and a savage Manchas…Nick standing up for her when she was well and truly alone and opening up to her about the prejudice and pain he had to deal with as a kid, tracking down the savage predators to Cliffside and getting Mayor Lionheart arrested…her stupidly blaming the savage incidents on predators biology and driving Nick away from her, watching the city she'd adored tear itself apart, her guilt for all the pain she'd caused driving her to give up on her dream and return home…the miraculous revelation of the Night Howlers; pouring out all her guilt, sadness and pain to Nick for everything she'd caused; that incomparable joy she felt when he forgave her, the danger they faced to retrieve the Night Howlers lab, learning of Bellwether's involvement and subsequently being hunted down, the adrenaline of acting on their last second strategy and hoping she wouldn't outsmart them, and the unbearable anticipation with each passing day in the hospital to learn if everything would be alright.

For almost every step of the way, this very same quick-witted but big-hearted fox was at her side, and she couldn't have asked for a better mammal to go through it all with. Even when all was said and done, he went out of his way to be here for her, and Judy was at a loss of how she could ever even hope to properly show him how grateful she would always be to have him in her life.

As a kid, she never once thought she would ever be friends with a fox thanks to Gideon Grey; but just looking at where she was, she was amazed how wrong nine year-old Judy ended up being.

' _Just you wait until tonight, awesome fox. One way or another, I'm going to do this tonight; no more stalling,'_ she thought to herself as her paw went to her pocket to feel the special envelope was still in there. Thinking quickly, just to be on the safe side, she quietly slipped it out and tucked it underneath her pillow for safe keeping. The bed had been left unmade yesterday, so that automatically told her there'd be no danger of him finding it by accident.

Confident that her little surprise would go the way she was hoping, she laid her head back on the pillow, still watching Nick sleep so peacefully. Gone was that seemingly permanent sly grin on his muzzle or the nearly piercing gaze of his eyes as though he were always looking for something to point out with a joke or something to exploit. Right now, with his already red fur nearly burning brilliantly in the morning glow, he looked nearly serene. Almost like a child, was an analogy that came prominently in Judy's head as she looked at him. As she silently looked his features over in detail and just taking into consideration just where they were, the country bunny suddenly noticed that her heart was starting to race considerably. She quickly took to shaking her head to bring herself back to reality and ignore the sensation.

Wanting to cherish this peaceful moment just a little bit longer, she carefully brought her little paw to Nick's snout; her paw pads just barely touching him as she stroked his snout as gently as she could. Almost instantly, the fox stirred and let out a tired grumble as he slowly and hesitantly opened his green eyes as though he were expecting the sun to blind him right from the start; instead having his face be mercifully shielded by Judy's head.

For a few seconds, Nick looked at the bunny lying across from him with either confusion or complete unreadable ignorance, as if he had no idea what he was looking at. But she could see the realization come back to him as his eyes looked unexpectedly surprised. The next few seconds were filled with awkward silence as Judy was anxious to hear what his first witty words for the day would be, and he was struggling to think of how to respond to his best friend bunny petting his snout and looking at him, no doubt unintentionally, with what he could only describe as the bedroom eyes.

"Uh…feeling a little frisky today there, Carrots?" Nick finally struggled to say, causing Judy to withdraw her paw and her ears to fold down as her whole face went red hot that she'd let herself get so carried away like that.

"Speak for yourself, grabby fox," she quipped as Nick finally realized he had his paws around her tight. Quickly reeling his arms back, both mammals quickly crawled out of bed, both too embarrassed to make eye contact for a few seconds; feeling just like typical awkward teenagers again.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Like I said, I don't really ever have visitors, and I tend to toss and turn," Nick said in weak explanation as Judy could only nod in agreement so they wouldn't have to dwell any more on this unnecessarily awkward start for the day.

"It's okay, I wasn't really helping. Coming from such a big family, I'm used to close contact like that. It kind of reminded me of that to be honest," Judy said hesitantly while still trying not to dwell on it. While it was definitely the truth, it didn't make her feel any less embarrassed.

"Huh, I knew you bunnies were naturally emotional. Didn't think you were overly affectionate too," Nick said now that he was finally able to regain his trademark sense of humor before quickly retreating into his closet full of floral-print shirts and khakis and neckties. Just the sight of something that seemed so cartoonish in real life couldn't help but make Judy giggle to herself.

"Don't get too used to it, Nick. The fact you're my best friend just added points in your favor," she said back as she grabbed her nearby crutches and began to leave the bedroom before hearing the sound of clothes landing on the bed behind her.

"Don't be in such a rush, Fluff. After four days, don't you wanna get out of those farmer rags and into something else?" Nick asked from inside the closet as Judy looked and realized she was still in her pink flannel shirt and practically ruined blue jeans. Sure, the hospital staff had taken care to keep her clean for the last few days, but she couldn't deny how nice it would feel to wear something else finally. It was then she saw an oversized black t-shirt with a triangle shooting out a rainbow, and a small pair of what looked like yoga pants that might actually miraculously fit her resting on the mattress.

"Well the shirt will work while we're here before I can see about getting my things sent over, but how did you get pants the right size for me? These aren't your childhood hand me downs, are they?" Judy asked sarcastically, although considering Nick had never left her side over the last few days, the possibility was all too real.

"Oh, such cheapness you accuse me of, Carrots, it physically hurts! I just did some…late night browsing over the last couple nights. You'd be amazed how hard it is to find clothes the right size for bunnies in the thrift stores around here," Nick said equally sarcastically as Judy couldn't help but giggle again. He seemed to always have a witty response to anything she could throw his way. That kind of cleverness and laid back personality of his couldn't help but make her smile no matter how polar opposite it was from her. And while she ended up being half right about the clothes being hand me downs, she still couldn't deny that him going through the trouble for her while she was sleeping was very sweet of him.

"Oh my, Nick, you planned for me to accept your roomie invitation ahead of time, didn't you? I must say I'm very flattered. But what would you've done if I'd said 'no'?" she asked with that same dramatic diva tone she gave him yesterday while eagerly waiting to see how he was going to deflect THAT loaded question.

"Nothing; YOU'D be the one having to scramble for somewhere nowhere near as nice or affordable as this one, remember?" he immediately shot back, earning an involuntary grunt of defeat from Judy as she realized she'd completely forgotten about that little factoid. Just the tone of knowing he'd won that hung in his words nearly made her fur bristle, almost as if she could feel the witty smirk on his muzzle as he said it.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Judy quickly grabbed the clothes off the bed and made her way into the bathroom, taking care of course to lock the door behind her. Thank goodness this apartment had apparently been built in consideration of the smaller stature of its owner, since she dreaded the idea of having to hop up in order to flip the lock and potentially end up hurting her leg even more and effectively lock herself inside.

Several minutes later, Judy stepped out of the bathroom feeling rejuvenated as ever now that she'd gotten that stale feeling from being in the same clothes and the same bed for days out of her fur. As much as she'd been hesitant about doing this by herself lest the running hot water from the shower somehow cause her surgery scar to somehow open up, there was no way she was going to even think about asking for Nick's assistance in this matter of all things. Thankfully her streak of good fortune from yesterday had decided to follow her as she'd been worrying for nothing and was now fresh and ready to face the new day.

Stepping out into the living room, her nose immediately began to twitch as she was met with a heavenly aroma from the kitchen. Instinctively heading for the raised seats lining the window counter that looked inside, she was pleasantly surprised to find Nick hard at work over the stove making a hearty stack of pancakes.

"Oh wow, you're just full of surprises, aren't you? If I'd known you'd be making me breakfast, I probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed," Judy teased as Nick greeted her with a complimented smile and a plate of flapjacks in his paw.

"One time occasion only, Carrots, so don't go getting yourself hurt again just for that," he humored her before setting it down in front of her as she stared at his appetizing creation hungrily.

"Sorry there's no carrots inside it. My kitchen, my ingredients; but now that you're here, I'll know better next time," he said as though he were trying to sound repentant while Judy wasted no time digging a fork inside and nearly stuffing her cheeks with the first bite. Her violet eyes almost instantly widened with satisfaction. Somehow, someway, these tasted nearly the same as the ones her mom used to make back when she was a kid; memories of those wonderful weekend mornings instantly coming back to her as she continued to eat enthusiastically.

"These are heavenly, Nick. I'll definitely have to return the favor sometime soon. Forgive me for repeating myself, but you never really struck me as the…culinary type," she reassured him as her mind was already racing at the thought of what she could prepare for him, and when would be the best time to do it so he'd least expect it. She'd picked up some great recipes from growing up with her mother, but of course those all consisted of ingredients that appealed mostly to bunnies, so if she had no choice, she'd have to brave into something else for him and hope for the best.

"Well, first off, thanks for the vote of confidence; second, living by yourself kinda forces you to learn how to cook for yourself. And as much as I hate to say it, one cannot survive on blueberries alone," Nick said in mock defensiveness as he quickly pulled into the seat next to hers with a plate of his own; trying his best not to just stuff his face, as though he were making a conscious effort to make a good impression to his roommate as she kept taking such big bites that her grey fuzzy cheeks were nearly puffed out completely.

As cute as he found the sight, he thankfully kept his mouth shut as the two continued on in comfortable silence, as though the respite from constant talking allowed them to finally take a breath from everything that had happened up until now and they could finally start focusing on living one day at a time instead of worrying about what came next. Once they were both finished, Judy immediately began to make way for the sink, only for Nick to step in the kitchen doorway to block her path.

"Not today, Carrots; until the official paperwork is finalized, you're technically my guest, and as such, leave the household duties to me," Nick said authoritatively as he grabbed the plates from the counter and immediately got to work cleaning everything himself while Judy gave him a slight pouting frown. His reasoning was understandable enough, but she still felt it was only right for her to take some apartment responsibility of her own. At least once she wouldn't need these crutches anymore; she could be much more active and helpful around here.

With nothing better to do, she made a beeline for the immense rows of CD's lining the opposite wall of the living room. Looking it all over, she couldn't help but be impressed. For someone as seemingly permanently laid back as Nick was, his whole collection was very strictly organized, and there were a good number of names here she didn't even recognize; which was saying something since she personally liked to think she had a wide-reaching taste in music.

Kendrick Llama **(Kendrick Lamar)** , Notorious P.I.G. **(Notorious B.I.G.)** , Sleigher **(Slayer)** , Mews **(Muse)** , Mammalica **(Metallica)** and Ewe2 **(U2)** among countless others; it felt almost unreal that one mammal would have any music so diametrically opposed to each other, regardless if it was based on mood or whatever else. She couldn't deny her curiosity was piqued with some of these. At least while she was recovering she would have all the time in the world to listen to some of these, hopefully with Nick there to enjoy it all with her.

"You misplace any of those out of order, Carrots, and I'll make you put them ALL back in order yourself," Nick warned jokingly from the kitchen as Judy quickly took care to put everything back in place. Just the thought of having to take these hundreds of CD's out and hope to put them back in order sounded like a week-long job, let alone a full day.

"Would be so much easier if you just had it all on an iPawd like everyone else, hipster fox," she teased as she could practically feel Nick cringe with such an unflattering title as he stepped out of the kitchen to join her.

"Oh, that was a low blow, Carrots. Besides, it's not my fault you youngsters can't appreciate the feeling of gazing over a physical collection and knowing it's rightfully yours," Nick said defensively while still in good humor as he sat beside her to admire his music library while also admiring the beauty of the skyline outside bathed in the morning glow.

"I guess we normal mammals just believe in using our space efficiently. Then again, most of us don't have swanky places like this," Judy mused as she gazed upon the exceptionally nice setup of her new home away from home.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, Carrots, when one struggles for as long as I did to get the money I now have, they've earned a place like this. Yeah, I didn't necessarily earn it the way everyone else no doubt would, but everybody deserves to have a roof over their head one way or another," Nick said without a trace of sarcasm or humor to be found, as though he'd taken to reflecting back on all the cons and rip-offs he had to pull to make it this far. Seeing him so deep in thought like this always made Judy's heart go out to him; just thinking about how they'd both been discriminated against, but he never had the support and security that she did to get through life. Just like on the sky tram, seeing him like this nearly drove her to want to hug him to bring him back to the present.

"Oh, before I forget, uh…sorry again, about…well, you know, grabbing you last night and everything," Nick suddenly said just as Judy was about to move in; catching her by surprise that he would actually bring that up now of all times.

"It's okay, Nick, really. Like I said, I'm used to close contact thanks to my family…and, I'd be lying if I said I didn't at least partially like it," Judy said in reassurance while trying to ignore how hot her ears were getting with each word, once again wishing she could just shut up before giving her fox companion too much ammo to work her with later.

"Well, still, you won't have to worry about it once we get you your own bed all set up. I understand what you're saying, but I…well, I like to keep to my own personal space," Nick admitted with great reluctance as Judy felt legitimately surprised by this revelation.

"Nick…but, what about back at that bridge? Or all the other times before?" she asked concernedly as this much more insecure Nick Wilde was something she was definitely going to struggle to get used to seeing.

"Those times were different. I don't know how to explain why they were; they just were. Getting close to other mammals just…just isn't something I normally do. All those other times…there was a lot of raw emotion involved then. Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming across like some standoffish jerk right now; I don't want to be distant with you, Carrots, believe me. You're undeniably the only real friend I've ever had, but this…this is something I'm really going to have to learn to get used to," Nick said with undeniable frustration and regret as he began to unexpectedly pour some long-repressed emotions out as Judy could only listen on in astonishment. This had come so out of nowhere, and she was once more at a loss of what to say to this still-so mysterious fox before her. Of course she understood where he was coming from, but she also knew she didn't want there to be some uncomfortable tension or distance between them. Maybe it was that naturally affectionate bunny nature in her, but as she listened, she was already silently promising herself she was going to be here to help ease Nick into being more comfortable with where they both now were in life with each other.

"I understand, Nick. This is something immensely new for both of us, but you know I'll always be here to help make it easier for you," Judy said sympathetically as Nick gave her a sideways glance before managing to give her a genuinely grateful smile in return.

"Thanks, Cottontail. I'm gonna try and do the same for you, though you're gonna be much less difficult in comparison," he said with that signature humor returning to his voice as Judy couldn't help but snicker at how quickly he was able to bounce back when he seemed to be in such an emotionally distant place.

"Oh, I think you know I can be more than a pawful when I want to be, cheeky fox," she said with a devious smile as Nick couldn't help but laugh sarcastically.

"Whatever you say, tough bunny," he humored her before glancing over to a hanging clock to see it was almost 11am.

"Say, Carrots, didn't the doctor say you should make a point of doing those stretch exercises every morning, afternoon and evening?" he asked as Judy looked genuinely shocked at how late it already was. For such a natural early riser, she was nearly mortified if she ever slept in past 7; never mind not even being awake for an hour and already having it be so close to noon.

"Alright, let's take a look at what to do first and get a move on, time's wasting," she said in a much bigger hurry as she quickly got back onto her feet with her crutches and snatched the pamphlets from the hospital from the table before landing back on the sofa with Nick loyally sticking by her side as she began to look everything over.

"Don't know why you're in such a rush. It's not like the office is gonna call you in to work while you're still working with two extra legs," Nick joked as he nodded his head towards her crutches as if she actually needed the clue to get the lame joke.

"Well, these don't look too complicated. Don't really see what the big deal is. With the way you're already moving around, I'd almost want to say you'd be okay doing yoga exercises. And hey, we already know where to find a good instructor," Nick continued with his merciless string of snarky quips as Judy groaned in embarrassment at the thought of joining the yoga class at that…naturalist club.

"Ugh, not even in your dreams, Nick. But yeah, these don't look hard at all. In fact, I remember practicing some of these back during training," Judy said in agreement as she already began to fold her leg back as far as it could go before either the stiffness or the soreness became too much to ignore and she'd have to straighten out again.

"Well if you're already used to doing some of these, that's half the effort done right there; you could probably practice them any time. But the doctor said the main goal was to test how much weight you can put on it, right?" Nick asked with genuine curiosity as Judy nodded in acknowledgment.

"Then maybe that's what we should focus on this first time around; ease into the routine. What would you say was the most weight you could put on it before?" he asked as he seemed to put on a much more professional air about him as he took the pamphlet from her paws and looked it over intently.

"Well, a little while back, I chased our old friend Duke Weaselton into Little Rodentia, and he knocked several buildings over like a set of dominos, and I was able to push them back into place with my legs; and that was about ten rodent-sized buildings, so I guess if I had to divide it between both, I'd have to say…about 70 pounds even? Of course I also had some leverage on my side too." she said in almost certain estimation as she tried real hard to think about the physical science behind it all while Nick looked at her in fake astonishment.

"Wow, a tiny bunny able to push approximately 70 pounds with one foot? You're like a little rabbit superhero," he said in good humor while Judy couldn't help but giggle at such a "prestigious" title. Bunnies always had naturally strong legs, but to hear him lavish her with such corny-sounding praise still made her happy.

"Yeah, yeah, but that's the best guess I've got. Of course, that was a special occasion, so I'm about a good 10 pounds altogether," she said in an attempt to get back to business as Nick had to swallow the urge to call her a lightweight.

"Well, alright, but we still want you to be able to actually put enough weight on that foot so you could still be able to kick anyone that tries to hurt you and actually keep them down. But for now, let's just see how much you can do right now," Nick instructed as they both proceeded to look over the diagram for the best way to test it out. Eventually they both focused on a two-mammal exercise where the second party acted like an overhead springboard for the first.

"Okay, this one seems straightforward enough; might as well give it a shot," Nick said as Judy kept looking at the way it was set up and couldn't help but start blushing as she hesitantly looked at the fox, who looked surprisingly determined to go through with this.

"Nick…a-are you sure? I mean, what about what you just said about…you know…not getting close to others?" she asked nervously as Nick pushed the table in the middle of the living room aside so they could actually have some space to work with.

"Well, it's like you said, Carrots: this is new territory for both of us, but we can help each other get more comfortable with it, so might as well start now. Besides, if I don't push myself to do it now, I never will," he admitted as Judy nervously got down off the sofa and moved to the center of the living room before lying herself flat on her back; her violet eyes staring up at the ceiling as she couldn't help but feel her throat go dry with just what they were going to be doing now.

"Alright, so the way this is set up, it looks like I'll need to be here, and you'll need to be like this," Nick said mostly to himself as he kept looking over the diagram while positioning himself on his knees right in front of Judy's prone form before he gently grabbed her right foot and slightly lifted it into the air with great care.

To be in what was clearly such a vulnerable position, Judy was trying so hard to ignore how fast her heart was starting to race and how badly her ears felt like they were burning. Anyone watching this from the outside could get any number of ideas what they were doing, and not one of them was good.

"Okay, Nick, so…h-how exactly is this supposed to work?" she nervously asked as the fox practically loomed over her with her leg held gently in his paws; his gaze from above practically rendering her silent as her head instantly started racing with everything this felt like. She could only hope her eyes weren't really as wide as she thought they were, because if so, there was no way Nick wouldn't be able to notice.

"Well, it says that from where I am, I can apply my weight onto your leg, and we can have you test out to see how much weight you can put on your foot by trying to push me back. And hey, the way we're set up, it'll be a good way for you to get some flexibility back too. Fancy that, killing two birds with one rabbits foot," Nick joked as Judy let out another groan at his increasingly tasteless and nonsensical jokes as she tried to take a deep breath and steel herself for what they were about to do. Doctors' orders or not, she felt increasingly uncomfortable being seen like this, especially by Nick of all mammals. But hey, the little reassuring voice in her head continued to remind her that the sooner she get back to her senses and do this, the sooner it would be over.

"Alright, just for starters, try folding your leg back again, let's see how far you can go right now," Nick instructed as Judy hesitantly followed through; turning her gaze away from him as she pulled her leg back only for it to lock up just before meeting her stomach.

"Wow, I guess the doctors weren't kidding when they said you'd probably be good as new in just two weeks if you're already able to fold back this much. Okay, this should make the rest a lot easier," Nick commented as Judy quickly straightened her leg back out; refusing to make eye contact as she crossed her arms over her chest, still trying so hard not to think about this.

"Alright, I'm not gonna put any weight on it, but just try folding back a little bit and try pushing my paw away; see if you can even put any weight on it at all," Nick recommended as Judy did as she was told; trying to ignore feeling her fur nearly bristle as she felt the fox's paw on the pads of her foot. Not even waiting for him to give her the go ahead, she instantly extended her leg against the resistance; not feeling any pain as she felt it move away with her force much to her relief.

"Alright, looks like you can. Guess now we can…uh, Carrots?" Nick began to say, only to stop when he saw Judy was intently staring at the wall instead of him. Of course her ears twitched once she realized he'd stopped talking and hesitantly glanced sideways to him.

"I kinda want to know that you're listening while we do this, okay?" he asked patiently as the bunny looked like she was actually struggling to think of how to respond to that; her little mouth opening at first, only to bite her lower lip. Once again she had that adorable flustered teenager look going on, which once more brought that laid back grin to his muzzle as he grabbed her foot again.

"Alright, let's just start from the bottom up with this one, okay, Carrots? I'm just gonna put a couple pounds on it and see if you can push back against that, okay?" he asked as Judy quickly nodded before he'd even stopped, as if she were just too eager to finish this as quickly as possible.

As he began to press her leg downwards by a few more centimeters, he noticed her paws were practically clutching onto her crossed arms for dear life, as though it was taking every ounce of willpower in that little bunny's body to keep herself at least semi-calm. If he didn't know her better, he'd almost want to assume she was terrified of him in a state like this; but he knew to have more faith in her than that; and he especially knew she had to have more faith as well, otherwise there's no way they'd be doing this right now.

"Okay, you can try pushing now, Carrots," he whispered into her ear, snapping Judy back into reality as she immediately began to use her leverage to push up against his paws until her leg was straight once more.

"Okay, so you can at least put 2 pounds on it as of right now. Do you wanna keep going?" he asked as he couldn't ignore just how much of a nervous wreck Judy looked like right now.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay to do a little more," she said hesitantly, causing Nick's brow to furrow as he couldn't rightfully ignore this anymore.

"Okay, Carrots, if this is making you too uncomfortable, you can just say so. You know it takes more than just that to offend me," he said in an attempt to level with her as she finally turned her head back to look him in the eyes.

"I know, Nick. I'm sorry, I just…I'm not used to…well, THIS," she admitted apologetically as she spread her arms to emphasize just what this all looked like.

"But I thought you said you were used to close contact," he joked; only to see this time she wasn't amused.

"Nick, I'm being serious right now. You can't seriously tell me you can't see what this could potentially look like to anyone else, right?" she said much more seriously as Nick took the moment to really take in what this looked like: a male fox on his knees with a pretty little bunny on her back right under him with a leg in his paws. If this were thousands of years ago, anyone would assume it was simple predator dominance over its prey. But now in the modern age…well, it would certainly have the same implications, just on a much less…natural level.

Once he'd finally put it all together, his ears folded down as he looked back down at Judy apologetically. Once she saw the realization hit him, Judy couldn't help but feel considerably guilty now.

"I'm not trying to be difficult, Nick. I know you're only trying to help me, and I think it's really sweet that you are on top of everything else you've done for me. This isn't about me being prey and you being a predator. This is just…this is female instinct kicking in all at once," Judy tried to explain as Nick seemed to be taking her reassuring words to heart. She knew he only had the best intentions deep down, and far be it for her to throw those intentions back in his face. He wanted to be the one to help her when she had nobody else to offer it, and she was very grateful for that; but this was certainly a poor way of showing it.

Before she could say anything else, Nick removed his paws from her leg as she looked up at him with genuine curiosity what could possibly be going through his head right now.

"I get it, Carrots. Really, I do. I guess I didn't really think that all through when looking at all this stuff. It just seemed the easiest and most effective way to do it. Guess that throws any future career as a physical therapist out the window. But let me just ask you one thing before we decide what to do next. Carrots, please be honest with me…do you trust me?"

Judy nearly felt her heart skip a beat once those words were out, and all at once did Nick's real emotions right now finally become clear to her. She must've looked so much more scared than she thought she did, and who knew how that must've made him feel to see that after everything they'd gone through together? Her guilt immediately became so much worse as she looked at Nick sympathetically before sliding herself over to his side and gently wrapping her little arms around his neck again.

"Oh, Nick, you don't even have to ask. Of course I trust you. I'd trust you with my life. After everything we've done together, how could I possibly not?" she said reassuringly as she held onto him tight before feeling his own paws hesitantly wrap around her sides before pulling her in close as well, leaving both mammals silent for a few lingering seconds.

"Thank you, Carrots. I've gone for the longest time living without anyone really trusting me just fine…but not you. I can live with nobody else trusting me, but you're not one of them. I need to know that I can at least be considered trustworthy by you," Nick said reluctantly as he practically held onto this precious little bunny for dear life. If only the old Nick Wilde could've seen the way he was now. He'd lived practically his whole life vowing to never let another mammal see that they got to him, and here he was now, practically fighting the urge to actually let a tear out and pretty much flat out telling Judy just how much she'd gotten to him since they'd first met.

"Always, Nick. I don't care what any other mammals might say about you. You'll always be brave, loyal, helpful, and above all trustworthy to me," Judy admitted, her voice shaking with emotion as she could just see how all those years of this fox keeping his own feelings bottled in was starting to come out over this one little harmless act. She fought hard to keep herself from crying from the sheer weight of this moment as well. Right now, Nick was the one in need of support, and one way or another; she was going to be here to provide it for him.

All the while, Nick nearly felt a shiver go up his spine to hear Judy use those particular words to describe him. Those same words meant to describe the cruel farce that was the Junior Ranger Scouts; words he'd dedicated his youth to, only to have it all thrown back in his face. The polar opposites of what he considered himself to be for the longest time; now being spoken to him with the utmost heartfelt conviction by the best friend he could've ever asked for.

For several lingering seconds, neither mammal dared say anything else until Judy was finally able to collect her emotions enough to really see just where they now were.

"So…I'm guessing this is one of those 'moments of raw emotion' you were talking about, huh?" she asked jokingly as Nick's eyes widened to realize just what he was doing, but surprisingly he didn't feel the need to separate. He felt so at ease right now, he didn't want to dare make it stop any sooner than he had to.

"Yeah, seems like it. So…uh, you decided what you want to do next?" he asked awkwardly as he and Judy finally gave each other a little more space as they both seemed to be so much more at ease to each other.

"Absolutely. Let's give it one more run, and just put a bit more weight behind it and we can call it a morning," Judy said without any hesitation as she got onto her back again while Nick got above her much more confidently before taking her foot into his paws once more.

"Alright, how about this time you fold your leg back as far as it can go and try pushing from there?" he instructed as Judy didn't hesitate to fold her leg back as far as she could go while Nick leaned over so that he had his full resistance against her once she was ready.

At least until he accidentally leaned forward a bit too much and his knees ended up slipping back from underneath him; causing him to topple forward for a split second before he caught himself with his paws.

But not before his and Judy's noses ended up touching ever so slightly thanks to his longer snout; causing them both to go absolutely wide-eyed right before she launched her foot right up into Nick's jaw from sheer muscle reflex with all her strength.

 **Five minutes later**

"Ah…well, if I were a doctor, I'd definitely say you just proved to be fully healed if you could put THAT much weight behind that foot," Nick joked with a painful groan while he kept rubbing his sore lower jaw with his paw while splayed out on the sofa with Judy curled up on the other side looking downcast and outright miserable.

"I'm so sorry again, Nick. That was completely an accident, I swear, I didn't mean to do that," she apologized for what probably had to be the hundred-and-fiftieth time in five minutes while Nick could only weakly chuckle in amusement.

"Well, on the bright side, I'm a little more comfortable getting closer, just so long as you try not to kick me every time," he said without any hint of resentment or anger as Judy nearly felt the need to pull her ears over her eyes to hide her look of absolute embarrassment and shame.

She couldn't deny that having Nick get so close to her while she was on the ground brought back memories of Gideon Grey when they were kids; but what bothered her the most was that she'd chosen THAT way to react to what most mammals said was a non-official kind of kiss; in which case that was her very first.

' _Great, everyone back home's gonna love to hear how I nearly knocked out the mammal that was my very first kiss. Oh sweet cheese and crackers, am I really thinking of it like that? Nobody really thinks of it like that anymore, do they? Besides, it was an accident, nothing more…but come on, kicking someone's no way to react to anything, let alone this! Oh, I'm gonna be making up for this for months to come, aren't I?'_ she thought in remorse and humiliation to herself as she reluctantly looked to see Nick staring up at the ceiling with the same always-amused grin on his face.

Of course, seeing him treating the whole mishap like a happy accident did bring her thoughts elsewhere.

' _I can't believe that actually happened, though. I mean, it had to be an accident, of course it did. But still…if that were the case, then why…why did it still feel so…good?'_ her thoughts began to echo in her head as she buried her face into her knees to hide the almost childlike smile on her lips.

All her life her dedication had been focused on virtually everything but relationships, and pretty much everything in her life had been moving so fast she never even stopped to regret it. Her dreams had all come true by her own determination and will; but now that everything had settled, this mishap had finally given her a reason to actually think of that missed little detail of life.

Yes, her first gut reaction was to kick Nick in the mouth as hard as she could, but in the fraction of a second that passed beforehand, she nearly felt her entire body surge with what she could only compare to electricity; as if her fur stood completely on end for that moment and her mind became lost in what had to be some kind of euphoria before it all swept away the instant she saw him reel back from the blow.

While racked with guilt in the moment, she couldn't deny that there was still a lingering sensation rippling through her small body right now thinking back to that moment of contact. She couldn't think of how to put it into rational thought, but what she did know was that the moment itself, this sensation felt…good…VERY good.

' _Oh, c'mon, Judy, get it together. In the end, it was just a dumb accident, no matter how good it felt. This is Nick we're talking about, remember? We're just best friends, nothing more. If you keep dwelling on this, you're just going to drive yourself crazy. What happened, happened; so now it's time to focus on the present, okay?'_

"Hey, Carrots, you still in there or are we out to lunch again?" Nick's voice suddenly snapped her out of her train of thought as she raised her head from her knees to see Nick was back up and looking at her intently.

And just like that, all her mental psyching herself up had vanished as Judy found herself once more at a loss for an answer as her gaze was locked onto Nick's; feeling that previous fluster and embarrassment come back tenfold.

"If you can hear me in there, Carrots; your phone's been buzzing for the last minute or two. And here I was beginning to think you were too good for daydreaming," Nick teased as Judy instantly looked to see her cell phone had indeed lit up. Silently hoping it wasn't her parents checking in once again, she quickly grabbed it off the table to see it was instead a text message. That alone already told her it wasn't her parents. If they wanted to speak to her, it was NOT going to be through anything but face-to-face communication.

Opening it up, she felt her heart sink all the same to see it was actually a message from Chief Bogo of all mammals. He also struck her as someone who would only talk face-to-face, so something like this made what to expect from him even less predictable, which did not sit well with her in spite of everything good that had turned out thanks to his efforts. She just had to assume he naturally had that effect on others.

"Once she'd finished reading the single message from the chief, she practically scrambled to grab her crutches before heading for the bedroom; catching Nick by surprise as he hurriedly followed after her before she slammed the door and locked it behind her.

"Hey, Carrots, are you gonna feel like sharing or am I going to have to guess? I think you should know I'm not THAT good at guessing games," he asked through the door as he heard Judy struggling from inside. For a minute, he was answered with nothing but silence before the door suddenly clicked and flew open to reveal Judy hobbling along in her good old ZPD uniform with badge practically rubbed to a sparkling sheen and all.

"Aah, and here I'd almost forgotten how natural you look in blue," he greeted her as she hurried for the apartment door; trying to keep ahead so he couldn't see the smile on her face from such a straightforward compliment as far as her fox was concerned.

"No time to waste, Nick. That was from Chief Bogo. He said he wants to see me at the hospital as soon as possible," Judy explained as Nick helped get the door open for her; sticking to her side like a permanent shadow as he followed her out the door and down the hall.

"Well I'm not letting my new roomie hobble all the way there; so sure, let's go pay the big boss mammal a visit," Nick said without any hint of frustration or reluctance as the two inseparable partners headed down the elevator; neither one even able to hazard a guess just what could've been waiting for them this time.

 **Okay, guys, there's Chapter 4 for you all. Originally, this and the contents of Chapter 5 were going to be in this same chapter, but I realized that would take way longer to make, and I don't want to keep you all waiting. But hey, good news is I know what to comprise Chapter 5 of, so the brainstorming session won't take as long this time.**

 **Also, I'm sure some of you may or may not find my reasoning for how much Judy weighs against how much weight she's able to put into her feet a bit questionable, but I was just going with what felt like would make sense for all those buildings in Little Rodentia to weigh together. Also, the average European grey bunny weighs about 5.5 pounds, and while I realize Zootopia is essentially sticking to realism in terms of mammals differing sizes to each other and therefore corresponding weights, that just felt way too lightweight to me for her to be able to hold all those toppling buildings back and KO a rhinoceros like she did. So yeah, I took some liberty with that whole thing.**

 **Anyway, that's my unnecessary rambling out of the way. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'll try to get Chapter 5 out to all of you in a relatively timely manner.**


	5. Regain

**Alright ladies and gentlemammals, here's Chapter 5. I gotta say, it blows me away to see what a huge reception every chapter has been having with you all up to this point. It really does my heart good to see so many of you are enjoying this story as much as you are. It really has me excited to see how the sequels may turn out once I eventually get to them. Anyway, I won't bore you with any more of my rambling, so sit back and enjoy Chapter 5.**

 **Zootopia and its characters are property of Disney, not me.**

"Are you sure you're okay, Carrots? I can just hail us a cab if you're tired," Nick offered as Judy kept hobbling along down the sidewalk on her crutches as fast yet steady as she could. However she was no expert at hiding how exhausted she was after going nonstop for nearly fifty minutes as her breathing was starting to get noticeably ragged as Nick kept a steady pace alongside her, ready to catch her the instant she were to unbalance herself.

"I'm fine, Nick, really. Besides, we're almost there. We can take one when it's time to head home," Judy said in weak protest as the latest in several bursts of adrenaline drove her to go faster, as if doing so would somehow help speed up her healing process in some bizarre way. Thankfully, at least Nick was considerate enough not to persist on the matter when she asked him to.

Soon enough, there was the familiar white monolith that was Zootopia Central Hospital, practically glimmering in the sunlight from all its windows from the other side of the city square. The morning rush of pedestrians and traffic had already been well under way, so Judy and Nick had no choice but to take their time getting across without getting swept in with the foot traffic or better yet getting caught in actual traffic.

Stepping through the sliding glass doors, it was like nothing had changed from the day they left. Hospital staff and civilians alike were all still hustling and bustling from one corner to the next while the sound of voices, intercoms and telephones kept the lobby abuzz with life.

"So did he even tell you why he needed you to come back here, or even if he'd meet us?" nick asked as he and Judy began searching through the bustling crowds for Chief Bogo. Yes, it didn't sound so difficult to find a Cape buffalo among a crowd of other smaller mammals; but not when you were among the smaller ones.

"Well, I just naturally assumed he'd meet us here, it sounded pretty urgent the way he worded it," Judy explained as she was having the hardest time of either of them to get through everyone to try and find her boss.

"If by 'urgent', you simply mean 'something you need to be here for' then yes it is," the thunderous voice of Chief Bogo nearly seemed to drown out all other noise in the lobby as Nick and Judy alike nearly jumped to the roof to find him towering over both of them from seemingly out of nowhere.

' _Towers over everyone, has glares that would make polar bears turn tail and run, AND is somehow able to sneak up without being heard? How is anyone supposed to take his place as chief?'_ Nick thought to himself as Judy immediately straightened herself up with a professional salute, although still visibly shaking from how a mammal so huge had managed to get the drop on her with her sharpened hearing.

"At ease, Hopps. How's the leg feeling?" Chief Bogo asked upon giving her a salute in return, once more dropping the more intimidating part of his demeanor as though it were the easiest thing in the world.

"It's already feeling much better, sir. Nick has been an immense help in that regard. The way it's been going, I may actually make headway in my recovery and return even sooner than expected," Judy explained, barely able to contain her enthusiasm at the thought.

"Well don't push yourself too hard, or else you might not even last a day before hurting yourself even worse," Bogo suggested as Judy visibly backed down; knowing he was only looking out for his officers' best interest in doing so.

"Of course, sir. So, may I ask why exactly you wanted me here so soon?" she asked as professionally as ever as Chief Bogo motioned for her to follow, immediately spurring Nick to follow too before the buffalo suddenly motioned for him to stop.

"This is official ZPD business, Mr. Wilde. I'm afraid we can't rightly involve a civilian in—" the chief began to explain, only for Judy to loudly clear her throat in order to get his attention, surprised by the familiar pleading look on her face that still somehow managed to show that strong determination she seemed to radiate at the same time.

"Sir, I know the rules, guidelines and procedures are what help maintain order, but you know we never would've been able to fix everything without Nick. He's earned the right to be involved with whatever's going on as the rest of us," she spoke strongly in the fox's defense as Chief Bogo looked visibly torn. Of course she was right; that fox had proven to be as beneficial to ending the biggest case the ZPD had ever faced as any mammal could've ever hoped to be. But at the same time, he had to serve as the figurehead of how the system of the ZPD worked; and yes, sometimes that did mean having to follow the rules even when he knew better.

"I'm sorry, Hopps, but I'm afraid there's no flexibility on the matter. It's a very personal individual issue that specifically involves you only," he tried to explain as Judy looked clearly discouraged as he ears began to fold down while looking at Nick regrettably.

"It's okay, Carrots; I understand. I'll be waiting for you here when it's all done, promise," Nick assured her with that same roll-with-the-punches grin that immediately brightened Judy's spirits as she and Chief Bogo continued on their way down the halls of Zootopia Central.

"Well it's obvious you still haven't given it to him yet," Bogo said once he was sure Nick was out of earshot as the two of them stepped into an elevator.

"I'm going to tonight, sir," Judy assured him, even though it was mostly intended for herself. This was too important, and she wasn't going to let anything force her to push this matter aside; especially not whatever reluctance she still might have still had.

"I just hope you'll follow through with it sooner rather than later, Hopps. You're a good cop, and the less hindrances there are to you being able to perform your duty as best as possible, the better," the buffalo said with a heavy sigh, as though to emphasize this was all he had to say on the issue once the doors opened. She knew he was right. The responsibility for this was hers and hers alone.

"So why exactly are we here, sir? Is everything alright?" she asked once Bogo came to a stop in the middle of the hall; his attention drawn to one door in particular.

"Well, I didn't call you here for bad news, if that's what you're worried about. The whole debacle with Bellwether's legal proceedings is officially over. She'll be on her way behind bars by tonight. No, what I called you here for is perhaps more out of a professional kind of sentimentality if you will," he said as peaceably as he could while Judy couldn't help but feel legitimately stumped where he was possibly getting at.

"Forensics came through late last night, Hopps. They've managed to manufacture an antidote for the Night Howler serum and are currently producing more of it as we speak. By tonight, all the afflicted predators will hopefully be rehabilitated and ready to step back out into society," the chief explained further as Judy's eyes widened and practically shimmered with joy at the news.

"That's fantastic news, sir! But I don't really see why that would require me personally to be here," she expressed with hesitation as Bogo actually gave her an almost untraceable yet knowing smirk.

"Well…there was one person outside the ZPD we felt deserved to know about this development for what they'd gone through in the midst of all this chaos, and…well, after everything you did to help them, for better or for worse, they insisted that you be here for it," he explained as a look of realization quickly came to Judy as she silently looked to the door with disbelief; momentarily looking back to Bogo for validation before he gave her a single permitting nod, as if motioning for her to step inside.

Quietly stepping inside, Judy was immediately greeted by the same badger doctor who'd been in charge of her treatment; standing over the unconscious Emmett Otterton in his hospital bed, while Mrs. Otterton was standing loyally at his bedside, watching her husband worriedly as the doctor pulled a small syringe from the injection nozzle of the IV.

From everything Bogo had told her, Judy could only assume that the doctor had just injected the first of the Night Howler antidote into the IV in hopes of Emmett being cured while unconscious. The instant the doctor turned to leave; his expression brightened considerably upon seeing her in the doorway.

"Ah, Officer Hopps; back so soon, are we? I trust you haven't been pushing yourself too hard already?" the doctor greeted her with great enthusiasm as Judy gave him a grateful smile in return.

"Not at all, doctor. I've already gotten quite used to moving around with these, and Mr. Wilde has been immensely helpful with those exercises you mentioned," she explained as casually as she could while emphasizing her crutches, earning a slightly amused chuckle from the doctor.

"Yes, well, today is just chock-full of recoveries, isn't it? I've already administered the antidote to Mr. Otterton, so now all we can do is wait for him to wake up and see if it took any effect," the doctor explained in a more hushed whisper as he motioned to the Otterton's. It was almost unsettling that Mrs. Otterton hadn't even noticed the disturbance of Judy's arrival. Then again, she'd been so worried for her husband for the last several weeks; it might've been even more surprising if she wasn't solely focused on seeing Emmett finally come back to her.

"We had him brought in as soon as we received word the antidote had been made. She hasn't left his side since, not that I can blame her. I thought it strange she asked for you in particular to be here, but perhaps it's for the best. If any major developments occur, don't hesitate to call for me, alright?" the doctor whispered as Judy nodded in understanding before he made his way out; officially leaving Judy alone with Mrs. Otterton.

As optimistic as she felt for Emmett's recovery, Judy still couldn't ignore just how downtrodden Mrs. Otterton looked standing over him. There was no question how much she loved her husband, having practically begged the ZPD every single day to look harder for him, and then only to see a savage animal that had nothing resembling him in any way. Having to watch him like that and seeing her hope collapse so immensely still gave Judy painful chills to remember. Nobody in Zootopia had gone through the entire Night Howler incident unscathed, but there was no question Mrs. Otterton had received much more pain from it than most. And now, this may very well have been the only chance left of her to ever see her husband again.

She was hesitant to approach lest Mrs. Otterton actually wanted to be alone, but she also knew just how painful it was to feel alone, and that was the last thing anyone should've had to go through at a time like this.

The instant Judy took the first step; Mrs. Otterton seemed to snap back to reality as she reluctantly broke her attention from her husband, only to visibly brighten up at the sight of the officer who'd brought her husband back in the first place. At least, as much as she possibly could brighten up in these circumstances.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Otterton. How've you been holding up?" Judy asked kindly. She could only imagine the difficulty the river otter had to deal with these last several weeks, not only grieving for her husband, but also having to care for their two children in his absence. She was hesitant to even imagine how hard this all must've been on them especially.

"I've been trying the best I can for me and my children's sakes, Officer Hopps. I won't lie to you, it's been…it's been so hard," Mrs. Otterton said with great reluctance. She was trying as best she could to keep her spirits up, but her posture and the sheer tiredness in her voice made the truth all too clear for Judy. This poor otter had been through so much despair, and it was as if she were resigning herself to whatever would come next if this miracle antidote were to somehow not work. It was almost like she was one last letdown away from completely giving up hope.

"I know this doesn't count for much, but the doctor sounded very confident the antidote will work," Judy tried to reassure her as her worried gaze fell back to her husband.

"I want to believe that…I want to believe I'll finally have my Emmett back. Our babies have been missing him so much," Mrs. Otterton said barely over a murmur as Judy once again thought back to their poor children.

"How…how have they been taking everything that's been happening?" she asked hesitantly as Mrs. Otterton bowed her head into one of her paws; her shoulders trembling as she was beginning to weep.

"It's been hardest on them even more than me. I couldn't bring myself to tell them what's really happened to him. I told them the ZPD still hadn't found him…but if they learned what their father had become, it would destroy them both. How can I even look my babies in the eye anymore when I have to lie to them for their own good?" she lamented in utter shame as Judy had to take a deep breath to keep her own sadness for the Otterton's struggle from being seen.

"Mrs. Otterton, you did what any loving mother would do. No child should have to see their parents the way you had to see your husband. You don't have to like what you did, but that doesn't change the fact you had the right intentions behind it. You only did it to protect your children," Judy reassured the otter as she quickly took a tissue from her purse to dab her eyes. Being this close allowed the bunny to finally see just how emotionally defeated Mrs. Otterton was. If there was any kind of justice in this world, today would finally be the day her sadness could finally end.

"Thank you, Officer Hopps. No matter what may happen today, I want you to know I'll always remember what you did for me and my family. You stepped forward and helped us when nobody else would. I will ALWAYS be grateful to you for that," Mrs. Otterton said after finally managing to compose herself a bit. Judy gave her an appreciative smile before the small otter suddenly pulled her into a tight, grateful embrace much like the day she first took her husband's case.

"I have faith your husband will pull through, Mrs. Otterton. Even so, if you want, I'll stay here with you until he wakes up," Judy offered as Mrs. Otterton finally let her go; her spirits visibly lifted as she was clearly grateful for the kind gesture when she needed it most.

The minutes seemed to slow to a crawl as neither of them had anything left to say to each other. Judy could only express her optimism and sympathy for Mrs. Otterton's pain so many times and in so many different ways before it would just seem like some meaningless formality, and she didn't want to ruin this potentially glorious moment with that.

Still, it always twisted at her heartstrings every time she saw just how deeply emotionally tortured the otter was. She was the very picture of a wife and mother who adored her family if ever Judy had seen one; almost to the point she somewhat reminded her of her own mother. Of course, who could honestly expect any mother mammal to not be the same way in a situation like this? She definitely knew she wouldn't have been any different if the roles had been reversed. And of course that acknowledgement immediately brought the bunny's thoughts to the very idea of ever having a family of her own.

Just like with romance, it was another concept she'd pushed aside in favor of her career; and yet again it was something she now realized she had the chance to reflect on now that everything was back in place.

She would've been lying if she'd ever said she didn't like the idea of having children of her own and a wonderful husband to have at her side to watch them grow up with, but that always came with the pesky question of just who that would've ever been. None of the bucks she even remotely noticed back in Bunnyburrow ever really stood out as all that interesting; all of them too eager to just stick with the farm life they'd been accustomed to thanks to their own families instead of wanting to go out into the world and making a real difference like she did. And any that actually DID want to do something different turned out to be far from relationship material just from a glance at how they carried themselves.

After moving to Zootopia, the very concept seemed to be even less existent than before. There were nowhere near as many fellow bunnies in the city as she'd been expecting to see; hence the idea of a relationship seemed downright impossible.

And then of course there was her whole approach to romance in general. She hadn't dwelled on it for very long at all since before she was nine. And in the time when she did think about it, her approach to it was very…naïve, to say the least.

' _Oh, all those times I kept telling my parents the first male I'd ever kiss would be the one I'd marry. I can't believe anyone could actually go around thinking life is that simple, let alone myself. I mean come on; I was naïve to how this world really works when I first came here for crying out loud. That little Judy probably would've run all the way back home to see how it really is,'_ Judy thought in amused reminiscence to herself as she looked back on those days where an even tinier version of herself pretty much saw all the world through rose-colored glasses before she finally set her sights on law enforcement.

Of course, she was never completely closed off from the idea of finding a significant other somewhere further down the road, especially now that she was a police officer officially again and there were no city-wide threats going on anymore. And of course, thinking back on that little incident with Nick earlier this morning brought back a trace of that pleasant rippling through her body the more she thought back to that fractional second of physical contact that had been permanently burned into her mind's eye.

"Are you alright, Officer Hopps?" the voice of Mrs. Otterton suddenly registered to Judy as she quickly realized the otter was looking at her concernedly.

"I'm sorry?" was all the bunny could think to say, once again not even realizing how quickly she'd shut herself off from reality AGAIN. This was a troubling new habit she needed to get under control.

"You looked miles away in thought, almost like you were daydreaming," Mrs. Otterton said in elaboration as Judy began to worry just what she must've looked like, whether she was stressing over something or if she had some whimsical smile on her face.

"Oh, well…y-yes, a lot of changes have been happening VERY fast over the last few days, and I guess I tend to think back a lot on them these days now that everything's slowed down," she attempted to explain with a semi-embarrassed smile as Mrs. Otterton surprisingly seemed to smile warmly in response.

"The look in your eyes; it reminded me of the very first time my Emmett and I ever spoke to each other. I know we both like to think it was love at first sight, and I always imagined the way I must've looked at him to be the same as what you did just now," the otter reminisced with a wistful sigh as Judy felt herself blushing immensely at the thought. Did she really look that love-struck, that much swept away when thinking about an accidental nose touch? When thinking about the serene look on Nick's face when sleeping this morning?

"No, t-that's not possible. I don't even have someone like that right now," Judy tried to brush it off casually while the otter looked to be unconvinced, but understanding all the same.

"Well, even if that's so, maybe you just might find that special mammal for you very soon. Someone with as big a heart as yours, he'd be very lucky to have you," Mrs. Otterton said with a sense of finality, as though she could tell what a sensitive subject this was for Judy at this moment, and not wanting to push it any further.

Nevertheless, the effect had already been made. While trying to remain as composed and professional as possible, Judy's thoughts immediately started to race at what the otters' words might've implied. On the one hand, she couldn't stop thinking of how good she felt when she felt Nick's nose against hers, or even when he was holding her leg in his paws. She felt an incredible warmth in the pit of her stomach during that entire time, but she hadn't even stopped to acknowledge it cause of her stupid awkwardness that had taken all her attention. There was no way that kind of sensation could be felt by just any old male; something about it just screamed 'special' in her head. It was the only explanation that made any sense.

But on the other hand; there was the fact that nature made it practically impossible for anything to really develop between her and Nick. Their two species were natural enemies back in the old times, and even if that history weren't there, science always came to the forefront. They were two entirely different species plain and simple; completely physically incapable of…well, just about ANYTHING that married couples did.

Honestly, who had ever heard of members of two different species even being in a romantic relationship, never mind getting married, don't even bother thinking about kids? It just didn't fit into the way nature worked, no matter how you spun it. There was just no way it could be possible in any sense. Right?

No matter how much the cold hard facts rang true, Judy just couldn't deny that surge of strange feelings she'd started feeling around Nick ever since she woke up in that hospital. It was like nothing she'd ever felt towards any other mammal before, as if she couldn't stand the idea of living the rest of her life without having him there in some way, shape or form. She even found herself getting less and less annoyed by those constant sly grins of his and nearly found herself loosening up and feeling butterflies in her stomach at the sight of them. It was as if all those sensations health class described when females' first start noticing males was all hitting her at once like a pile of bricks 11 years too late.

' _Oh God, Judy, what is happening to you? You're just confused and swept up in everything that's been happening, that's gotta be it! It just has to be! Yes, Nick's absolutely wonderful, but there's no way anything beyond our friendship would ever be able to work…right? I mean, there's no way this can all be real like Mrs. Otterton's suggesting. You only started feeling this way four days ago, that's barely any time at all. I'll bet once you get back into the routine of things, these feelings will have gone away and you and Nick can continue on like normal. Besides, he said himself he isn't comfortable with being close to others, especially like that. Even if these feelings were real, it's not like he'd reciprocate just like that.'_

 **At that time…**

' _Well, at least Carrots won't have to deal with a grabby bedmate for too much longer,'_ Nick thought bemusedly to himself as he'd just finished placing an order for Judy's new bed through his phone to be brought to the apartment within the next couple days.

Tucking the device back into his pocket, the fox leaned back into his chair with an overly exaggerated sigh of boredom as he stared up at the fluorescent lights; having to listen to that insufferable electronic buzz they somehow managed to emit. What he would've given for some other kind of distraction. Even some nurses walking by talking smack about foxes would've been a welcome interruption at this point.

' _What could they've possibly wanted her to come here for that would take this long?'_ he thought as he kept instinctively looking back up the hallway she and Bogo had left down, as if expecting them to come back any second now and he wouldn't be left to stew in his own boredom anymore.

' _Ah, stop complaining, Wilde; it's not a good look for you.'_ He reprimanded himself just as he heard a pattering of feet rushing up the hall towards him; his ears perking up just in time to see the very same badger doctor from before hurrying down the hall as though he were running for his life.

"Hey, doc, where's the fire?" he asked in friendly passing, only for the doctor to rush past as though he didn't even notice him at all.

"No time to talk, Mr. Wilde; this is serious," the doctor said hurriedly before nearly flipping himself over trying to turn the corner without breaking his stride. Needless to say, Nick's curiosity was piqued; so he quickly got up and followed after the doctor as best he could. Little badger was a lot faster than he looked.

"What exactly is going on that's got you running for the first time in probably months?" Nick asked once he finally caught up with the doctor when he skidded to a stop in front of the elevator, struggling to catch his breath. Once the doctor actually looked to acknowledge Nick's presence, he seemed as though he were ready to protest the fox being here, but seemed to think it over before turning back to the double doors.

"I just got a buzz on my personal intercom from Chief Bogo. It's something with Officer Hopps," the doctor hurriedly explained just as Nick felt his grin practically plummet in an instant and his ears fold down; his whole body going cold.

"What?! What happened?! Did he say?! Oh, I KNEW I should've just gone with her despite what that big ox said," Nick immediately exclaimed with desperation as he'd already found himself pacing impatiently for the elevator to get here.

"He didn't say, Mr. Wilde, but whatever it is, it has to be serious," the doctor said regretfully just as that awaited *ding* finally sounded and the double doors slid open, with Nick and the doctor both instantly rushing inside and the doctor hurriedly hitting the button to bring them up.

"Oh, I can't take my eyes off her for a second! I should've known better! What kind of best friend am I?" Nick asked in a hushed and panicked whisper to himself as the doctor was struggling to keep himself as calm as possible.

"You shouldn't be blaming yourself, Mr. Wilde. Nobody's able to predict these kinds of things will happen," the doctor tried to reassure him only for Nick to bury his snout in one paw in exasperation. This was the very last thing he needed to hear right now.

"But I could've at least been able to prevent whatever happened! I couldn't stop her from getting hurt in the first place, and now she could be in even worse shape, and I'm not there," Nick argued just as the doors finally slid open; spurring both mammals to practically sprint out and down the hall; Nick silently steeling himself for whatever he was about to run into.

' _If Carrots really IS hurt even worse now…I-I'll never forgive myself,'_ was all that kept echoing in the fox's head just as he skidded to a stop around the corner to find the hulking mass of Chief Bogo and the doctor standing outside a door, whispering among themselves before the Cape buffalo suddenly noticed Nick standing there in confused desperation.

"Is…is she okay? What happened?" Nick asked between his rasping gasps for air as he hesitantly approached the ZPD chief, each moment dreading more and more just what could've happened.

"Well, you certainly got here quick, Wilde. One would almost think the devil himself were on your tail," was all Chief Bogo greeted him with in a tone so casual it almost infuriated Nick in the state of mind he was in, pretty much one involuntarily muscle twitch away from grabbing the chief by the collar to find out what was going on.

Right before Nick opened his muzzle to no doubt say something he'd eternally regret, the sound of the door opening got everyone's attention, and the fox was instead met with the sight of his treasured bunny standing in the doorway looking right as rain, with the most emotional smile on her face the instant she saw Nick in particular.

Before Nick could even begin to process what he was seeing, Judy practically bounded into him; hugging him as tight as ever as it seemed to finally register to him just what was happening right now. At a loss for words, he turned to the doctor and Chief Bogo, who both seemed to have very amused smirks on their faces.

"It's just like you said, he was on my tail as soon as he saw me," the doctor said to the ZPD chief as Nick felt like a poor sap caught in the middle of some grand prank he had no idea about. Thankfully the chief could see just how much in need of an explanation poor Nick really was.

"It was actually Hopps' idea, Mr. Wilde. She very much wanted you to be here for this, and she didn't want you to take your sweet time either," the chief said as Nick looked down to the bunny clinging onto him; instantly noticing the greatly amused smile on her lips as she finally took her head from his chest and looked up at him, almost as though she were immensely touched by how fast he'd arrived after falling for her little ruse.

"I…I can't believe you…I-I thought you…I-I thought you might've—" Nick struggled to say before finally giving up on words and pulling Judy in close, shutting his eyes tight to keep himself from letting his real emotions out while she basked in the warmth, unable to deny feeling a little guilty for worrying him like that. But finally once Nick was able to let her go, she could hardly contain her happiness.

"Nick…it's finally over. Everything really CAN go back to normal now. Just look," Judy tried to explain before motioning to the closed door while Nick couldn't even hazard a guess what any of that was supposed to mean. Of course, Judy's extended paw could only mean she was intending for him to look inside. Once again unable to deny his curiosity, the fox cautiously opened the door slowly, only to find the sight of who he could only assume was Emmett Otterton's wife practically coiled around the mammal himself; her shoulders shaking with barely repressed tears of joy.

But the most astounding part was that Emmett was holding her in return instead of thrashing around, snarling and trying to attack like a savage. For all intents and purposes, he was completely back to normal. As Nick shifted his gaze back to Judy, that little bunny's face couldn't have been glowing brighter with the joy she was feeling at finally seeing such a beautiful reunion.

"That's what they wanted you here for? A-are you saying that—" Nick began to ask, with Judy already enthusiastically nodding before Chief Bogo roughly cleared his throat to get all their attention again.

"An antidote for the Night Howlers had been completed late last night, and…well, in all good conscience, I personally didn't think it right that Mrs. Otterton should have to sit and wonder if her husband would ever come back any longer than she already had. But now that we know for certain it's a success, we can start administering it to all the afflicted predators and finally put this whole mess behind us where it belongs," Bogo said as professionally yet personably as he could while gazing at the reunited Otterton's with an air of relief.

"That's great news, and it definitely explains why you wanted Carrots here, but I thought you said civilians shouldn't get involved," Nick reminded the chief while Judy could only give him an amused smirk, almost as if she found his ignorance cute in a way.

"Nick, can you really not see? We BOTH made all this possible. You deserve to be here for this just as much as I do. It wouldn't be right any other way," Judy said as she took Nick's paw into hers before looking up to see his attention solely focused on the Otterton's with a whole new sense of understanding now. It was almost as if seeing the fruits of his and Judy's efforts was FINALLY making it clear to him just how much he had helped others, and was finally making him realize just how much of a pair of heroes they really had proven themselves to be. The praise of the masses of Zootopia was one thing, but the little things like this were what truly made the difference.

It wasn't long before Mrs. Otterton finally let go of her husband so he could recuperate and finally gather his surroundings after having been out of it for so long. As the doctor moved in to check on his patient, she stepped out and gazed upon the two mammals responsible for bringing her family back together. Her already deep eyes seemed absolutely unreadable to Nick as she seemed to be staring at him as though trying to figure him out from looks alone. Needless to say, the silence made him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"Are…are you Nicholas Wilde? Are you the fox I've heard so much about on the news?" Mrs. Otterton finally asked; once again leaving Nick stumbling for words. She spoke of his species with neither venom nor admiration, leaving him with no clue just where this was going to go.

"Uh, well…yeah, that's me," Nick answered confusedly while Judy couldn't help but lightly giggle to herself that he was being so awkward when any other mammal would've found it obvious the emotions Mrs. Otterton was projecting when asking her fox these questions.

Before Nick could even think to react, the tiny otter suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist; nearly earning a surprised groan of strain from him to feel how tight her hold was.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wilde! You and Officer Hopps both! Thank you for bringing my Emmett back to me! You're both my family's heroes! Thank you," the otter exclaimed with joyous tears as Judy quickly joined into the impromptu group hug while Nick was still utterly speechless and wide-eyed. He'd only just gotten fully used to getting hugs from Judy nearly the moment any major emotions started to come out; but getting the same from another mammal left him in too much of a surprised and awkward daze to even move.

Although having someone call him of all mammals their hero to his face left him feeling warm and…genuinely happy deep inside. His frozen expression was even able to slowly turn into a grateful smile as he eventually brought himself to hug Mrs. Otterton and Judy both in return.

 **Several hours later…**

"Former mayor Dawn Bellwether is behind bars today, guilty for masterminding the savage attacks that have plagued Zootopia of late," the female snow leopard anchor on the TV said with undeniable relief as Nick and Judy both watched in contented silence from his bed. After yet another emotionally and physically exhausting yet relieving day, this felt like the perfect way to finally end everything.

"Her predecessor, Leodore Lionheart, denied any knowledge of her plot; claiming he was only trying to protect the city," Peter Moosebridge piped in before the feed went to Zootopia's former lion mayor being interviewed from within prison; his former mayoral suit replaced with a dingy blue jumpsuit. And yet despite these dreary conditions, he didn't look the least bit miserable. Rather, he looked quite satisfied to know he at least wasn't considered guilty anymore.

"Did I falsely imprison those animals? Well, yes, yes I did. It was a classic 'doing the wrong thing for the right reasons' kind of a deal," the lion explained with an almost amused air about him; as if the whole incident could now be considered one to look back on and have a good old laugh about. Granted, not a lot of mammals in the city would appreciate that sentiment, but the important thing is it was all in the past. At least, Judy was hoping everyone would eventually be able to think that way.

"See? That's Politics 101 for you, Carrots. Question-your own question-answer," Nick said with clear amusement as Judy just rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, you just know everything; don't you, know-it-all fox," she humored him before snuggling further into his side, to which he didn't stiffen up or lose his cool in the slightest. Rather, he felt even calmer against her now than before.

"In related news, the Night Howler antidote is proving affective in rehabilitating the afflicted predators; affectively bringing to a close what is without a doubt one of the most turbulent periods in modern Zootopia history," the snow leopard continued on before Nick let out an exhausted yawn and grabbed the remote to turn the TV off; officially leaving him and Judy in comfortable silence.

"Isn't it wonderful, Nick? It's finally all over, and we're the ones that did it," Judy mused as though she needed to say it just to convince herself this was all real.

"Yeah, it really does feel nice, doesn't it? Of course, everybody's gonna be cheering your name a lot longer than mine. You're a cop, so you get that privilege," Nick agreed as he stretched himself out across the bed, ready to just flick off the lights and call it a night.

"Stop selling yourself so short, Nick. None of this would've been possible if I didn't have you; how many times do I have to say it before it finally gets through to you?" Judy asked in very mild frustration that her best friend kept lowering his own value in everything that had happened. She would've sworn he'd have accepted his responsibility in all this after Mrs. Otterton called them both her heroes in broad daylight.

"I don't know. Maybe I just like hearing the words come from your mouth more than anyone else's," Nick teased as Judy couldn't help but laugh sarcastically before bringing her arms around one of his own; relishing in the warmth of his fur against hers. She hadn't really stopped thinking about the strange feelings she'd started experiencing with Nick since her time alone with Mrs. Otterton, but by this point she'd at least decided she could still enjoy these quiet moments with him if nothing else.

"So tell me, did you ever once imagine your very first case would be something that big?" nick asked curiously as Judy just gave him another sarcastic smirk, as if silently questioning if he even needed to ask.

"Okay, I guess dumb question. But still, after literally saving the whole city, where do you go from there? The rest of your life's gonna be so boring now," the fox elaborated as Judy couldn't stop herself from giggling in amusement; while still not able to fully deny he did have a point.

"Not every day has to be some city-wide adventure, Nick. I never thought it needed to be when I was a kid. Just being able to help others in any way is enough for me. And besides, it doesn't have to be boring with you around," she said optimistically as Nick couldn't help but grin at the thought.

"That's true. You'd be like the 21st century Shrewlock Holmes and I'd be like your one fox Barker Street Irregular. Two mammals on opposite sides of the law, fighting crime together, there's no limit to what we could do," Nick humored her, even spreading his paws through the air to emphasize the sheer scale of what they could do while Judy's smile only seemed to grow to at least see the fox was open to the idea. It was pretty much the perfect invitation for her.

"You know, Nick…it's funny that you should mention that. You see…there's something I've been meaning to bring up to you," she explained as she hesitantly pulled away from nick as he propped himself on his elbows to give her his full attention. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she reached her paw underneath her pillow to finally pull out that single envelope; Nick's green eyes instantly honing in on it as she held it close to her chest nervously.

"Why, Carrots, a love confession for me? I don't know, don't you think we're moving a bit fast for that?" Nick instantly joked; nearly busting a gut when Judy's ears practically flared up and she met him with a semi-serious bump on the head while trying to hide her face with the envelope lest he see how much she was blushing.

"Nick, can you please give it a rest with the wisecracks just for this once? This is serious, and I've been trying to prepare myself all day," Judy slightly scolded him as she took several more deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Once it looked like Nick wasn't going to say anything else, she braced herself to continue.

"You see, Nick, I've had a lot of time to reflect on everything we went through during this case, and…well, it made me realize I don't think I could go back to working solo after all the things we've done together. We had each other's' backs pretty much from the start; blackmail notwithstanding. It was undoubtedly the first time I was ever truly not alone, and…it felt incredible," Judy struggled to explain while Nick's amused grin slowly began to fade as he recognized the deeply heartfelt emotion fueling what the little bunny was saying to him. The more she spoke, the more the memories of their adventure really began to become clear in his head as he began to open his muzzle to speak.

"Carrots…w-what are you trying to say?" he finally managed to ask as Judy had to practically bite her lower lip to keep from groaning in frustration toward herself for beating around the bush now that the time had finally come. Unable to think of how better to put it, she finally thrust the envelope toward Nick as he looked at it in confusion before seeing the clearly desperate look in Judy's violet eyes.

"I don't know how else to say it, Nick. Please, just open it," she said pleadingly as the fox hesitantly took the envelope into his paws and carefully tore it open and unfolded the single slip of paper inside. What he saw made his emerald eyes go wide with astonishment.

Staring right back at him was the old ZPD Employment Application Form he'd first filled out when Judy had offered him a place as her partner; and that he'd forced back onto her when she'd instinctively gone for that fox repellant. All the old information was still there. The dumbfounded fox nearly felt his whole body flare up in heat and awkward nervousness as he slowly shifted his gaze back to Judy, who was looking at him with similar desperation, as if dying to hear his thoughts now that her long-awaited wish had finally been spoken to him.

"Judy…I-I don't—"Nick stuttered in barely even a whisper as he kept looking between her and the form in his paws. All the while, Judy nearly felt her entire body surge to hear Nick actually refer to her by her real name. She could only vaguely remember him ever doing that once and even then she'd been underwater so for all she knew, she'd misheard him. But now, it was clear as day, and to know Nick was speaking from such an emotionally deep and honest place to actually forgo her nicknames nearly made her fur stand on end once more in the most pleasant way imaginable. It was definitely something she'd love to hear from him again.

"I meant it when I offered you to be my partner, Nick; and I still do. I held onto it after…well, what happened, because for a time, I was afraid it would be the only thing I'd ever have to remember you by. But now that we're here, what better time than now to ask?" Judy tried to explain as she eagerly tried to get a bead on Nick's reaction as he kept looking over the form as though trying to inspect every minute detail about it; almost as if he were struggling to decide if this was really happening or not.

"I…I don't know. Are you…are you positive about this? Do you really think I'm ZPD material?" he asked with great hesitation as Judy had to restrain her enthusiasm that he at least wasn't saying 'no' outright.

"Nick, I couldn't ask for a better partner if I tried. Yes, we had our struggles and our misunderstandings, but that's unavoidable for any two mammals. With those exceptions, I never thought two mammals could work as well together as we have. And if you're officially my partner in the ZPD…well, it's like you said, there's no limit to what we could accomplish," the bunny appealed to him as she laid a supportive paw on his arm to extend the sincerity in her words to him as Nick's expression seemed to vaguely shift into one of more conviction.

"And if I'm being completely honest…being a cop just wouldn't be the same without you. Yes, we'd still be living together, but I just can't help but feel like something irreplaceable would be missing otherwise. I'm not trying to pressure you, but I just can't imagine working—" Judy felt the need to continue before Nick suddenly silenced her with a single paw pad to her muzzle as the look in his green eyes seemed to practically burn with determination and resolution.

"If we're both going to be honest here, Carrots, then I have to admit the thought of going back to Pawpsicle hustling sounded gravely boring to me as well," Nick admitted as Judy's eyes were practically glistening as she brought her paws to the one he had over her mouth.

"Okay, you've twisted my arm. If you want to keep making the world a better place, then you better consider me along for the ride," he finally said with the kind of conviction that all but shouted this was his final decision. Judy was practically squealing with excitement and unbridled joy as she practically tackled Nick onto his back; hugging him as tightly as her emotions could allow her to while nuzzling into his neck with such affection one would've almost thought the fox had asked her to marry him instead. It took every ounce of willpower Judy had and more to not pull Nick to her by his necktie so they could have another 'accidental' nose touch again.

But no, this moment was blissful enough as it was, and the last thing she wanted to do was make it that painfully awkward again. Right now, she couldn't have asked for everything in her life to be more perfect. Once more, it nearly felt too good to be true; but the comforting warmth of Nick's body against hers as she relished in all the good fortune that had befallen them assured her this was no dream, and that she and her fox had made it all possible by their own paws and nothing else.

 **Well guys, there's the fifth chapter for you all. I'm going to be on the level with you all, I was very hesitant and unsure how to go about writing Mrs. Otterton. She was probably one of the few characters in the movie that I had nearly nothing to work with. All we ever really saw of her was a desperate wife and mother despairing over the disappearance of her husband, and I had no idea how exactly to write her, so I can only sit here and hope it came across at least semi-competently to any of you.**

 **And now the mystery of the envelope is finally out in the open. I feel many of you probably had it at least mostly figured out, considering the synopsis of this story I gave in the description to begin with, we all know what events this story takes place between. And I also apologize if the ending of this chapter comes across as rushed in any way. I can only keep dialogues going for so long before it almost feels redundant and just like filling up space or padding.**

 **Anyway, there may likely be a slight delay to Chapter 6 since the semester is coming to a close and I have major work to do that has to take priority; but don't think that means you'll have to wait for months for the next chapter. It may just take an extra week to find the time to write it up on top of everything else I have to do at this time. But in the meantime, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter, and I'd love to hear how you think I tackled any of the material here. Those thoughts are what make this all worthwhile. So enjoy!**


	6. Remember

**Hey everyone. Well, it was hard to get through my semester finals and having to put this chapter on hold; but just as I promised, here's Chapter 6 for all of you. I know this sounds selfish, but I was a bit disheartened to see the more lackluster response to this chapter. Nowhere near as many follows or favorites this time around. I'm actually kinda willing to bet putting Chapter 5 up between late Thursday night and early Friday morning played a big part somehow.**

 **Anyway, I apologize if the first part of this chapter feels incredibly rushed. I just wanted to iron out the minor details of the two weeks we're going past. I've learned that needless padding can really hurt a story, so I decided you all at least deserve to know the noteworthy things that were supposed to happen between Chapter 5 and this one. With that all being said, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter at least as much as you've enjoyed the others. I would really like to know your thoughts.**

 **Zootopia and its characters don't belong to me; they belong to Disney.**

Everyone is familiar with the saying 'time flies when you're having fun'. But with that being said, two weeks had seemed to practically fly by since the night Nick Wilde accepted Judy Hopps' invitation to be her official partner in the ZPD.

Almost all at once, both their lives seemed to practically turn upside down as they both made immense efforts to settle into the new directions their lives were starting to take. Within those two weeks Judy had officially filed as a resident in Nick's apartment and arranged for all her things back in Bunnyburrow to be sent over (all while struggling to convince her parents NOT to come personally to help her get settled) while also steadily recovering through her rigorous daily training with Nick's help. Within nine days, the determined bunny had been able to work herself back into the best shape she could be in, once again able to move without the need for crutches.

At the same time, Nick's entire disposition seemed to nearly make a complete 180; as if his decision to officially join the ZPD had awakened a dormant part of him neither he nor Judy knew existed. He was no longer as carefree or laid back as he usually was. Instead, he began to actually take things more seriously: like helping Judy through her recovery or dedicating himself to actually jogging every morning, almost as if trying to get ahead of the curb for when it would eventually be time to get on the next train to the ZPD academy.

And yet to both their unspoken relief, he was still able to smile or crack a joke at almost every opportunity whenever he and Judy had time alone together. Amid the craziness of both of them trying to get their lives sorted out, those serene moments were sacred for them.

At the same time, the rest of the city's old wounds from the Night Howler's case had finally healed over. Normality had finally sunk back into the minds of the populace as the once staggering numbers of charity groups and benefit events towards mammal unity had slowly sunk back into obscurity, as though the animosity between predators and prey over the last few weeks had never even existed.

And even better: Judy herself had gotten to witness personally that any damage the incident had caused within the ranks of the ZPD had officially been repaired; as any predator officers that had forcefully been reassigned in the wake of the tension were finally being let back into their rightful places among their fellow law enforcers, right down to good old Clawhauser returning to his rightful place at the lobby's front desk. Somehow, just seeing that one little detail be rectified seemed to really resonate with Judy that everything was finally back to the way it was supposed to be.

And yet, despite everything falling into place, life returning to normal for everyone, being fully healed at last and officially having moved in with her best friend; Judy could never shake the fact that once she was fully capable of taking care of herself again, Nick was going to leave for the academy. It'd taken her a good few months of constant training and struggling to finally graduate, and knowing that she would be all alone in their apartment for that long couldn't help but make her feel considerably sad. Unlike her when she lived nearly 200 miles away in Bunnyburrow when she left, the academy wasn't even an hour train ride from Zootopia itself; but regardless, Nick was surprisingly insistent on going the distance and not returning until he either graduated or got kicked out.

Perhaps it was knowing that he was so determined to make this change for the both of them that made her times alone with Nick so much more precious for Judy. She couldn't be more proud of him to see he was so committed to helping her get settled and to bettering himself, but she never could figure out the best way to communicate that to him in a way that wouldn't have left both of them red in the face.

Over those two weeks, she had spent nearly all her time by herself thinking back to that conversation she and Mrs. Otterton had back in the hospital. Some days it drove her up the wall having to go round in circles to really figure out just what it was she really felt for Nick. She'd never deny that he was the best friend she ever had, and she'd be lying if she said that him leaving her in his anger didn't make her feel utterly dead inside. And she also couldn't argue that him accepting her apology and letting her back in had to be the greatest feeling she'd ever experienced; and she also couldn't deny that thinking of him staying by her side through all this time since then made her heart flutter every now and then.

But at the same time, it always came back down to cold hard facts. They were different species, and she couldn't say for certain if what she felt towards him in their times alone was really something stronger than their unbreakable friendship, or if it was simply that strong friendship and nothing more. And of course, there was always the possibility he didn't feel the same way in those solitary moments, regardless of how flustered or nervous he got whenever they got close.

By this point, Judy had at least managed to quell those confusing emotions for the last several days, instead choosing to focus on helping Nick prepare for his training and getting herself settled. But now that it was all over and done with, the day had finally come.

The Central Zootopia train station was almost frighteningly empty this early in the morning. The sky was only beginning to turn the deepest shades of blue and purple as Nick and Judy stood patiently at the platform for his train. The usual noisy hustle and bustle of the station instead hung with unbearable silence as both mammals found themselves at a loss of what to say. This was their last chance to truly speak face-to-face for the next few months, and it was only now the fact was hitting them head on; leaving an unpleasant empty pit in both their stomachs.

Nick wasn't even going to think of backing out of doing this. Being his bunny's partner sounded like the most fun he could ever have, and even if that weren't the case, the look of incomparable pride in her eyes made all that strain and effort more than worth it. The last thing he wanted was to waste it. But at the same time, to know she wouldn't be there for him to make his jokes to, or to be there to comfort him when he felt especially down was far from pleasant.

And Judy at the same time felt especially reluctant for this moment. She kept telling herself it would only be a couple weeks, but now that time was gone like nothing, and here they now were. She didn't want to talk Nick out of doing this. She wanted him for her partner more than anything, and she knew how serious he was about going through with it. The sheer lengths he'd pushed himself to go just by breaking his nocturnal lifestyle habit and actually forcing himself to go jogging in the mornings spoke testaments to that. This was his choice to make, and she wasn't going to deprive him of that independent spirit. But she still dreaded the loneliness she was bound to go through without having him around; to know he wouldn't be around for her to joke or simply hang around with…or to hold.

' _Oh, please, Judy, don't start thinking about that NOW. If you do, you'll never let Nick get on that train,'_ the voice of reason practically begged as Judy tried desperately not to make eye contact with the fox lest he see how truly conflicted she was. But if only she could see the internal war reflected in his eyes as well.

' _C'mon, Wilde, this is the last chance you'll have; you've gotta say SOMETHING to her,'_ Nick's own inner voice demanded as he swallowed a painful dry lump in his throat before very hesitantly shifting his gaze to the little grey bunny standing loyally at his side; wringing her paws together as though struggling as well. Even without any words being said between them, that one little sign seemed to make it crystal clear to him that he wasn't alone in feeling this apprehension towards leaving.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Judy's ears suddenly perked upright as she instinctively looked down the track to see the distant shape of the train steadily approaching the station. Now the already limited time they knew they had had been cut even shorter.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay having the place all to yourself, Carrots? I realize such a big place is a bit much for a little bunny like yourself," Nick asked with that unavoidable snark as Judy shot him a barely amused smirk with a roll of the eyes.

"Maybe worry more about yourself than me, overprotective fox. Are YOU sure you don't want to just come home every night after training? It's not like they're going to hold you there against your will. You live closer, so you at least have that option," Judy offered one last time; hoping her expression wasn't giving him any hints she was actually hoping he'd take her up on it. As much as she didn't want him to know the loneliness probably would get to her, there was still that pesky tidbit of bunnies being so naturally emotional, so there was no telling just what she was actually showing.

"C'mon, Carrots, don't try and use your being lonely to make me come back. I said it before already: the next time you see Nicholas P. Wilde, I'll either be the ZPD's first fox officer, or its first fox dropout. Either way, I'll be the first fox, so I guess I win no matter what," Nick joked as Judy couldn't help but giggle in amusement just as the train pulled to a stop at their platform. God, if only she knew how much he'd actually come to love the sound of her laughing at his endless arsenal of awful puns and quips.

"Well, just remember that no matter what happens out there, I'll be cheering you on every step of the way, Nick. If I could make it, so can you," Judy encouraged him as she gave him a friendly little bump on the arm as the train doors slid open.

"I'll try not to let you down, Mommy Bunny," Nick humored her while trying to sound like a prim and proper little school kit before grabbing his suitcase and beginning to make his way for the train; his footsteps becoming heavier, all while Judy felt her heart hammering at her chest harder and harder; trying to fight the pesky stinging of tears welling in her eyes knowing these were their final moments together for a number of months.

Both mammals felt a grand variety of things to say start creeping up their throats; their entire bodies practically trembling with knowing they'd regret it for the rest of their lives if they didn't say anything else. The weight of knowing this was it had all at once become too much to bear.

"Nick," Judy's voice suddenly called out to the fox as he instantly turned around to give her his attention; only to be caught off guard when the little bunny suddenly ran to him and hopped high into the air to wrap her arms and legs around his torso in a nearly crushing yet loving embrace. The weight quickly brought Nick to his knees as he quickly regained his senses and hugged Judy in return; both of them silently relishing in each other's' warmth, as though trying to photograph this last moment to hold onto in each other's' absence.

"Just know that no matter how this may turn out, I'll ALWAYS be proud of you," Judy whispered softly in Nick's ear as the two continued holding each other; practically for dear life before the sounding of the train's horn quickly brought them back to reality as they reluctantly pulled away from each other; both of them blushing furiously while trying to avoid the other noticing.

"I promise I'll check in with you every night so you don't get too lonely, Fluff," Nick finally managed to say as he stepped into the train while Judy gave him a grateful smile that nearly melted his heart where he stood.

Good God, what was this bunny DOING to him over the last two weeks? How had this bunny cop that had for the longest time been nothing more than his best friend suddenly become such a close part of his life that saying goodbye today felt nearly as painful as death? How could anyone rationalize a single one of the emotions he found himself feeling in her presence these days?

Before he knew it, the doors had slid closed; effectively separating him from the bunny still smiling emotionally at him from the platform as the train began to lurch away before steadily picking up speed. Nick didn't waste any time racing up the stairs to the top floor of the train car so he could catch one last glimpse of Judy still waving goodbye to him from the platform before the train took its first turn and officially cut off his view of the now distant train station. With nothing more to be said, but with heavy regret still hanging heavy on his chest that he couldn't have said more, Nick resigned himself to sitting back in the only seat this floor had, now just having to tick away the seconds before he'd finally be at the academy and could officially begin the journey towards this fresh new start to his life.

All the while at that same moment, Judy still stood at the edge of the platform; still putting all her energy into waving goodbye as she saw Nick looking back at her from the glass dome atop the train car as it sped off. Just the implications of that one silent action spoke volumes of just how mutually hard this already was for them both, but she never regretted a second of this morning as she dedicated those last images she saw of him before he left her sight to memory, as if to remind her that the next time she'd get to see her best friend again, he'd very much be a changed fox.

Regardless, once she knew she could no longer see him again, a single tear did manage to escape and roll down her fuzzy face as she took a deep breath through her teeth to steel herself. She couldn't allow the loneliness to get to her this soon. This time was going to require both of them to be strong; and if he was really going to do his best to make her proud, she wasn't going to allow herself to let his expectations of her down either. So with that, the bunny hesitantly stepped away from the platform and began to make her journey back home, ready to face the first of many days without Nick Wilde at her side, just like her first days in Zootopia.

God, thinking back on it now, those days felt like they'd happened years ago instead of not even a month. This was definitely going to be a very long few months.

 **Later that afternoon at the ZPD…**

Just like she had feared, the apartment felt so much bigger and empty without Nick around to liven it up. As such, the sooner Judy could get back to work at the ZPD at long last, the better. Surely the day would be busy enough to help get her mind off of it to the point once it would be time to go home, Nick would already be settled in and able to video chat with her all through the night. Thank goodness the academy didn't confiscate phones for when it was after training hours.

But unfortunately, with the end of the Night Howler case, crime rates throughout all of Zootopia had gotten so low, it left a good number of officers with nothing to do more than paperwork, standard patrols or parking duty. Anything else barely even exceeded that of a simple jaywalker or a pickpocket. And that was for the officers lucky enough to at least get patrol duty. Unfortunately, Judy was not one of them today.

Being a cop was great, but the one thing they never liked to acknowledge was a mandatory part of the job was processing the paperwork for every arrest or misdemeanor reported, and she got the short end of the stick by having to process a handful of parking and moving violations at her personal desk. Having to go through the motions of making sure all the details checked out while listening to the dull humdrum of the office to the point it became an incomprehensible buzz left the bunny nearly bored to death.

' _I guess Nick had a point. After your first case involves saving the entire city, everything else really DOES feel dull as dirt in comparison,'_ she thought to herself as she instinctively looked up to the wall-mounted clock to see it was barely even noon yet. She let out a miserable groan as she quickly got back to work at her computer; silently hoping that perhaps if she focused hard enough, it'd make time go by faster.

Suddenly, there was a loud wrapping at the wall of her cubicle, prompting her to spin back around in her chair at attention to find Chief Bogo leaning over her cubicle wall, looking as serious and straight-to-business as usual. Now that Judy was officially back on the force, the mentor-like atmosphere the chief had given her the last few times they'd met had been replaced with that of the typical domineering boss every other officer no doubt had grown accustomed to. Of course, the look in his eyes no longer had that condescending glint as it did when she first arrived, so at least real progress had been made in that regard.

"Come along, Hopps. There's some…important business that's come up we need you for," the chief said straight to the point as Judy immediately got up to follow him before she could even stop to think what could've possibly been going on that involved her personally.

"Sir, what exactly is going on?" the bunny asked confusedly as the chief never broke his stride while heading for the elevator before hitting the button for the lobby.

"Our…former mayor has suddenly requested a word with you," was all Chief Bogo could think of to say that could hope to sum up the out-of-nowhere request that had come to his desk today from Zootopia's most secure prison.

 **Central Zootopia Penitentiary**

Walking through the dreary grey halls of this maximum security prison left Judy feeling more than a little uncomfortable. This was where the worst criminals the city had to offer were locked up, and the atmosphere definitely showed. The ambient noises of distant growls and shouts along with the intimidating electric sounds of the cell doors and intercoms gave the whole place such an unwelcoming feel. This couldn't have been the place Mayor Lionheart was being held, or at least she'd certainly hoped that weren't the case. But then again, if she was being asked for personally, then that meant it was…the other mammal she knew the mayor title belonged to.

After being led by the guards through the mazelike halls with Chief Bogo standing behind her protectively, Judy found herself being guided into a small room occupied only by a long silver table with a single chair at each side. But the one feature that stood out was a wall of glass dividing the room clean in half, with only a few holes in the center to allow occupants on both sides to communicate. She found herself swallowing a heavy lump in her throat as she figured all she could do was sit down and wait for whoever invited her here to arrive.

"We'll be right outside listening in, Hopps. If anything at all happens, we'll be right there to back you up. And when you're ready to leave, the button under the table will let us know and we'll be right there," Chief Bogo assured her as he and the guards filed out of the room before the heavy steel door shut with a resounding thud that echoed through the room; momentarily leaving Judy all by herself in this grim cold room.

The seconds felt like minutes as she began once again wringing her paws together nervously, for once having no idea just what to expect from what was about to happen. For a few seconds, her mind once again went back to the reassurance having Nick around always left her with. This would've been so much less nerve-wracking if she at least knew he was out there.

' _Stop thinking about that, Judy. You're back on duty, you gotta be professional about this. You're brave and you're strong. You've handled worse than this by far, so just go into this with confidence and you'll be fine,'_ she quickly reassured herself just as she picked up the muffled sounds of footsteps echoing from the other side of the opposite wall she was facing. Before she knew it, the door clicked open and swung with a rusty groan as two bison prison guards walked in tandem into the room; each holding opposite ends of a chain before stopping at opposite sides of the other end of the table. And just as Judy had inevitably come to realize, she was met with none other but Dawn Bellwether climbing into the opposite chair facing her. Once the little sheep was up, the guards locked her chains into two rungs sticking out of the table, no doubt to keep prisoners from trying to escape or fight back. Not that her tiny stature would've done anything if she even tried.

The quiet between the two small mammals was unbearable as Judy tried to read Bellwether's body language, just to get an idea just what might've been going on with the former mayor to see what her deal was. But silent observation was only going to accomplish so much. Who knew what she wanted to talk to Judy about, so the bunny figured she might as well get them started.

"How's it been settling into the life of a convict for the past two weeks, Ms. Bellwether" she finally asked as professionally as possible while the sheep had little to no visible reaction to anything Judy had just said.

"Obviously I'm still here with all my limbs intact and my wool unruffled, so I guess you could say I've settled as best I can," Bellwether answered with no hint of emotion.

"Well, for a tiny sheep in prison with a bunch of much bigger mammals, you look good. Inmate orange is a good color on you," Judy met her back with a joke that she couldn't believe had actually come out of her mouth so naturally. It almost felt like Nick had said those words instead of her. Oh God, that fox was actually rubbing off on her!

"Yeah, you can go ahead and laugh it up, Judy. I guess you earned it after all," Bellwether said with clear distaste for being mocked while Judy quickly collected herself again.

"I understand you specifically asked for me. Is there anything in particular you suddenly felt like sharing today?" the bunny asked as she quickly took out her notepad and the carrot pen Chief Bogo had returned to her last week.

"Nothing too serious if that's what you're thinking. I guess I just felt like seeing you one more time for some reason," Bellwether said in mock innocence as Judy's brow furrowed. That answer didn't sit right with her at all. She knew how smart Dawn was, and she wouldn't possibly want to actually waste both their time with idle chit-chat as if they were actually still friends.

"I feel like I should be flattered, but for some reason, I'm not. If there's something you've got up your sleeve, I want to hear about it. Although, I guess we both know you're too smart to just tell me right off the bat," Judy explained as Bellwether couldn't help but let out an especially bitter chuckle.

"Same old naïve Judy. Thinking the real world is like the movies. I'm not some kind of comic book supervillain, okay? I know when I'm beat, and as much as I hate to admit it, you beat me. My cohorts are locked up with me, and the chances of any of these other mammals, especially the predators, working with me is less than zero. So you can quell your excitement," Bellwether relented as Judy seemed to visibly calm down.

For a few seconds it was back to that awkward silence as Judy mentally scrambled to think of what else to say, all while Bellwether nearly seemed to be staring right past her, as if staring right into her soul.

"I see that fox of yours isn't here with you. He finally go crawling back to whatever foxhole he came out of?" the sheep asked with clear venom intended for the fox as Judy immediately shifted her attention to Dawn at the mention of Nick. Hearing someone speak of him with such vitriol couldn't help but get under Judy's skin as one of her feet instinctively began thumping against the leg of her seat.

"For your information, Ms. Bellwether, Nick actually just left for the ZPD academy just this morning. He and I are going to be enforcing the law as partners before too long," Judy said with an undeniable hint of satisfaction, as if intentionally trying to rub it in Bellwether's face that a predator was free once again.

Instead, Bellwether let out a surprisingly loud laugh of the utmost amusement, catching Judy and even the sheep's own guards by surprise.

"You…you really think the ZPD is really ever going to allow a fox into their ranks? Oh, you really ARE just some dumb hick bunny, aren't you?" Bellwether asked between her gasps for air as Judy felt her fur bristling at the criminal's mockery.

"Nick has proven his bravery and loyalty to me and Chief Bogo both, Ms. Bellwether. No matter what you might think, Zootopia is changing, and prey and predators are unifying together like never before," Judy informed the sheep with pure confidence.

Again, Bellwether let out another round of laughter, practically having to wipe her eyes behind her glasses from the amused tears.

"You really think what you've done to the people of this city is really going to last, Judy? You think just because predators and prey have at this moment joined in harmony and sang 'Kumbaya' together that it's going to be that way forever? Wow…just wow…

"Those people will get over what you've done for this city in due time, mark my words. And when they do, it'll be like nothing's ever changed. Predators and prey have ALWAYS been enemies. It's just in our nature; and nature will always win no matter what idiotic ideals or hopes you hold on to! You may have locked me up, but in the end you've accomplished NOTHING!" Bellwether proceeded to say in a hateful ramble as her once emotionless face nearly seemed to flare with absolute hatred for Judy and Nick alike; as if Judy standing by her belief that peace between both races was possible was what finally broke the sheep's calm and collected demeanor.

"That's where you're wrong, Ms. Bellwether. That may have been the way it was back in the Stone Age, but time ALWAYS changes things, and the relation between prey and predators is no exception. Clearly there's nothing left for us to say, so I'll bid you good day," Judy said with as much conviction and confidence in her words as ever as she quickly hit the button Bogo had mentioned, and just like he said, the door behind her opened and the chief and guards came in to help guide her out while Bellwether's guards did the same.

Just before stepping out the door, Judy suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked back to the sheep over her shoulder.

"And just for the record, Dawn; that fox, that predator, has been a far better mammal to me than most other prey I've known. Just something I thought you'd like to know," Judy said in one final bold statement before finally exiting out; as if with the sole intention of letting that little fact torment that hateful little sheep. As cruel as that intention no doubt sounded the more she thought about it, she couldn't deny that it still felt immensely satisfying to prove that wooly little monster wrong.

"Do you really think it was smart to antagonize her like that, Hopps? Granted, she can't do anything to you from in here, but speaking as a professional, I don't think it was," Chief Bogo commented as they made their way for the exit, while Judy didn't look the least discouraged by his disapproval.

"She just wanted me here to get under my fur, sir. I just felt it was only fair I return the favor," Judy said with no regret as they stepped back out into the parking lot to make their way back for headquarters.

"As much as I know you don't want to hear this, Bellwether did have something of a point. Even if the academy did accept Mr. Wilde for training thanks to the Mammal Inclusion Initiative; that doesn't necessarily mean all mammals, recruits and instructors alike, are going to be entirely open to the idea of a fox joining the ZPD," Bogo said in a lower mutter, as if to emphasize how serious he was on leveling with her on this. While Judy didn't dare let the chief see that this got her immensely worried; that lingering doubt was going to be haunting her for the rest of the day until she could speak to Nick again.

She wanted more than anything to believe that the truth of the Night Howlers case would've gotten the citizens to look at how they'd acted towards each other and want to make an official change. But in the end, nature ruled over all. And nature was not easy to overcome.

 **Later that night…**

After that foreboding little encounter at the prison, the rest of the day had thankfully gone by much faster as Judy had hoped. She couldn't stop thinking about what Bellwether and Chief Bogo had both said, and it just left her far too anxious to just return home and forget today had ever happened. The entire time she made the return trip, she could at least look forward to getting to at least talk to Nick tonight. That would surely take her mind off everything.

Of course, opening the door to see the apartment cloaked in darkness without a soul to greet her once again brought that stupid sense of loneliness back all at once as Judy let out an exhausted sigh before proceeding to get herself ready to turn in.

Once she'd eaten and gotten herself freshened up, she spent what felt like a good hour just lying on her single bed that took up most of what was now her personal bedroom; staring up at the ceiling while being left alone with her thoughts. Not just on the disturbing implications of Bellwether and Bogo's warnings, but once again back to what had been on her mind the most over the last few weeks, all of course centering around Nick.

Bellwether's claim of the immutable laws of nature brought back Judy's worrisome doubts about the plausibility of her recent feelings towards the fox. They hadn't dissipated over the last two weeks; instead only lying dormant for when she'd be alone. In the end, nature was what always brought the mental discussions to an end, and now having Bellwether re-enforce that hard concept just made the doubt even worse.

On top of that, having her own boss confirm that Nick may very well not be welcomed into the ZPD with open arms brought even worse nagging doubts to Judy's mind. Was all her optimism for what a positive change the city had made all for not? Was she just fooling herself into thinking this peace would last? She couldn't deny she was comparing a couple weeks of progress to millions of years of pure animal instinct. Instilling peace between predators and prey could NEVER be that easy. And if such were the case, who knew just what kind of abuse or scorn her future partner would have to deal with. In a way, it could potentially be even worse than before, since he'd made it so clear to her he legitimately wanted to help others now. If the mammals he swore to protect would only treat him with scorn and hatred at every turn, who knew what it would do to him? And even worse, she didn't know if she would even be able to hope to make it better.

Suddenly, the silence that forced Judy to retreat into her head was broken by the familiar electric humming of her phone on the nightstand; and at this hour on this day, that could've only meant one thing. And as such, Judy nearly felt her chest burst from the instant excitement.

Like a shot, Judy swiped the phone and quickly held it up to see the name she'd been longing all day to see greeting her. Not even wasting a second, she quickly accepted and was soon met with the familiar and welcomed face of Nick gazing back at her with that same confident yet well-meaning grin.

"Hey, there she is! And it looks like you haven't managed to burn the place down yet," Nick greeted her as Judy had to struggle to keep from hyperventilating at how good it was to hear his voice again after such a stressful day.

"And it looks like they haven't kicked you out yet either. Looks like I don't have to cancel interviews for a new roommate after all," Judy shot right back with a clearly joking grin as Nick couldn't help but laugh. Whether it was out of amusement or pride to see how much his timely wit was starting to show in the grey bunny, neither of them knew.

"Yeah, well, don't forget to tell whoever you pick they gotta hit the road as soon as I come back. One roommate is a paw-full as it is," Nick humored her as the two mammals both laughed in amusement; the looks in both their eyes clearly reflecting this was a reunion they both clearly needed. For a few seconds, neither of them could say anything, as if choosing instead to just bask in the moment and be grateful for the fact that they could have moments like this still.

"So, how're you liking the academy so far, Nick? It's pretty incredible, isn't it?" Judy finally managed to ask as Nick looked around off camera to his new surroundings, although from what she could see, everything was nearly pitch black.

"Don't start getting all nostalgic just yet, Carrots. Me and the other recruits pretty much spent today getting the grand tour, though I'll bet you got the same treatment too. Gotta say, though, it's not as big as I was expecting," Nick admitted as Judy could already remember when she was in his place not too long ago. Of course she'd found the academy both amazing and intimidatingly big; but what bunny WOULDN'T have thought so?

"Well, once they actually start your training, you'll get even more used to the layout, believe me. It's going to happen eventually," Judy said in false warning as Nick momentarily gave her a fake scared look as though he were a little kit scared of the dark before returning to that smile.

"Well, the instructor said we wake up at 4:30 and gather out front at 5:00 in the morning. Guess I picked one heck of a time to start getting up early for those jogs, huh?" Nick asked; his tone clearly showing immense gratitude for that personal choice as Judy couldn't help but grin in agreement. She and her family had always been early risers; came with the farming lifestyle. But for a naturally nocturnal mammal like Nick, he couldn't have picked better timing to follow in her footsteps in that way.

"So have you gotten to really meet any of your fellow recruits yet, Nick?" Judy asked as she rolled onto her side with the phone still held delicately in her paws; and for a second she couldn't help but imagine that the fox was actually right there opposite her staring right back.

' _No, stop that, Judy! Not now!'_ mental Judy immediately chimed in as the bunny quickly came back to reality, hoping she wasn't blushing and that Nick wouldn't notice through the phones' screen.

"Well, not on a personal level, not yet. There surprisingly aren't a whole lot of others this time around, or at least I'm assuming this is less than what they're used to. It's mainly a lot of the same: some elephants, some brown and polar bears, a lion and a tiger or two, some wolves. But there are actually some other smaller mammals too. I noticed there was a beaver and even a couple other bunnies too. I guess you're becoming like a real inspiration, Carrots," Nick explained as Judy couldn't help but feel an air of pride entering her chest to know she was inspiring others to step forward and make a change just like her.

"That's fantastic, Nick. They're all going to be your team for while you're all training, so if you manage to work together, I know they'll be able to trust you just as much as I do," Judy said in clear congratulation as Nick gave her a genuine smile of gratitude for the kind words…but at the same time, Judy could almost swear she saw an inkling of hesitation in his green eyes for an instant. Then again, she couldn't deny she was genuinely exhausted at this point as well.

"Well, as long as I'm still able to talk to you, I can take whatever this place has to throw at me, Carrots. With that being said, I guess I should probably hit the sack, huh? Last thing I need is to pass out in the middle of training, huh?" Nick asked sarcastically as Judy nodded in understanding, although she still couldn't shake that momentary falter in the fox's composure.

"That's a good idea, Nick. Let's talk tomorrow night, okay? And…I hope you know that if there's anything at all the matter, you CAN tell me, Nick. Okay?" Judy asked with an almost motherly concern; and this time, Nick looked particularly caught off guard with that, as if he genuinely didn't know how to answer that before he managed to take a deep breath and calm his nerves. For all Judy knew, this could've just been his anxiety from being in such a new place without her around. Almost like a kid whenever they came to a new school.

"I appreciate that, Carrots. I'll be sure to remember. Alright, talk to you tomorrow," Nick finished the call surprisingly formally, with no witty jokes or anything to close out on. It left Judy feeling considerably concerned what that could've possibly meant. It was so unnatural for him to be so blunt and not have something witty to say, especially to her.

 **At that moment, at the ZPD Academy…**

As the comforting image of Judy's smiling face gave way to the black of an empty cellphone screen, Nick let out a heavy sigh as he bowed his head; hunched over with exhaustion on the edge of his bunk. Luckily, he had no bunkmates to speak of, cause he was really not in the mood for conversation with anyone else. He couldn't even bring himself to tell Judy about what was bothering him, so how could he even hope to tell anyone else?

Reluctantly tucking his phone into his pocket, Nick hesitantly turned to look at the wall right above the head of his bunk. He'd done everything he could to keep the wall out of Judy's line of sight on the phone, cause the last thing he wanted was for her to feel the need to come to his aide if she saw this.

He hadn't even really spoken to any of his fellow recruits, but at least one of them must've figured out which dorm room was his from one of the instructors while everyone else was off getting dinner after the tour had finished. Or who knows; for all he knew, one of the instructors could've done it while no one was around.

Scrawled on the wall above Nick's bed in red paint were the words: _**MUZZLE THE FOX!**_

 **And there you go, everyone, Chapter 6 and Nick is officially in the ZPD Academy. Before any of you jump to any conclusions, this isn't the beginning of some big mystery that's going to take up the rest of the story. That's not what my intention was when formulating this. This is just a point to emphasize there was unfortunately some truth to Bellwether's words. No matter how much good an individual can help do for many, prejudice will always dwell within others. It's a sad fact of life.**

 **But yeah, the rest of this story, we're going to basically be following Nick as he struggles to let go of the pain from the past prejudice he's suffered in an effort to finally begin his life anew and prove he's more than what others and he himself believed him to be.**

 **And I'm really trying hard not to rush the development of Nick and Judy's respective feelings for each other, but darn it, it's harder than it seems sometimes.**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter, and I'd love to hear what you all think. Now I'm focusing solely on my final, and when that's finished, I'll be able to focus on writing this series full-time for the duration of the summer.**

 **Enjoy!**


	7. Regret

**Alright, everybody. I desperately wanted to get this out to you all in keeping with my current one-chapter-a-week basis, but obviously there was a lot of material in this chapter to write out, so it took a day longer than I'd hoped. But fortunately, my finals for college are finally done, so now I can focus on writing this series full time when I'm not at work. We can now finally focus on Nick's experience at the ZPD Academy here. I hope you'll all enjoy what I have here for you all. I'd love to hear all your thoughts on it.**

 **Zootopia and its characters are Disney's property, not mine.**

Had Nick known just what was awaiting him first thing in the morning on his first official day in the ZPD academy, chances are he either wouldn't have volunteered at all, or he would've taken up getting up early in the morning years ago. The entire time he sat in circle with his fellow recruits in front of the academy before their polar bear instructor, he felt like he was going to pass out every second.

He'd spent a good couple hours the previous night scrubbing away that hateful graffiti his mysterious visitor had left in his dorm. He couldn't stand the sight of it, and it was a good way for him to vent the frustration it made him feel.

' _No more. My days being a sly, shifty fox are done, and by God, I'm going to prove it,'_ was all that sounded in his head the entire time he scrubbed the paint away until he finally couldn't see it anymore. Good thing too; by then his paws were so sore, it almost felt like they were going to snap off.

Now, here he was sitting in the damp and foggy cold with his wrists feeling sore while trying to fight to stay conscious and actually listen to the instructor.

"Alright, listen up, cadets! This is the beginning of the longest and toughest period of your lives! Only the strongest, fastest, smartest and most dedicated mammals have what it takes to make it into the ZPD, and that is what you are all here for! We're going to see which of you truly has what it takes," the polar bear instructor began with a booming and authoritative voice that immediately had all the recruits sitting up straight and at attention as she seemed to be looking them all over, as if trying to silently measure them all up.

"Needless to say, this journey is going to be tough! You will be tested; you will be pushed to your breaking points both physically and mentally! Not all of you will make it! You all believe you have what it takes to join the honorable ranks of Zootopia's finest? You'll have to PROVE it first," she continued as she paced back and forth in front of the recruits; her gaze especially focused on Nick when mentioning the need to prove their worth. Needless to say, Nick couldn't help but feel naturally intimidated under the steely gaze of such a massive predator.

"I see we have our fair share of smaller mammals among us this time around; including our first fox and our first beaver. You've got some big paw-prints to fill if you want to make it to the end of this road successfully," the instructor continued, and already Nick could just imagine how new it must've felt for her to actually be saying anything to small mammals that wasn't 'pack up; go home, you have no place here.' And just from the heaviness his sharp ears could pick up in her tone when discussing what standard he'd have to live up to, he wouldn't have been surprised if she might've had a portrait of Judy hanging up like she was the academy's biggest star pupil.

Then again, for all he knew, maybe she actually was.

"Being an efficient ZPD officer is not just about how strong or how fast you are. Out on the Zootopia streets, you must be observant, brave, smart, quick-to-act, and above all else, willing and able to adapt to any and all environments and situations. You all may find yourselves one day in situations that can better be approached with words rather than brute force; but then there will be times you'll have to be willing to get into the thick of it in order to save yourselves or even your partners or the general public."

As she continued on, Nick couldn't help but feel a bit proud he'd at least inadvertently gotten some field experience in both those approaches, but he didn't dare grin. Something told him that bear was a lot more observant than she looked. Last thing he needed right now was to do 200 pushups or a hundred laps on his very first day.

"Understand this, cadets. A ZPD officers' work is never over. Justice will always need to be delivered SOMEWHERE; and as such, you all need to be able to properly carry out your duties in any given environment. For those of you not local, Zootopia has twelve distinct ecosystems within its city limits that fall under the ZPD's jurisdiction that you may find yourselves in at any time: Tundra Town, Sahara Square, and the Rainforest District, just to list a few. If you want to graduate and become an official officer, you're going to have to master ALL of them before hitting the streets. Failure to do so may result not only in any potential criminals getting away and possibly hurting any civilians if you find yourselves in such a scenario, but it could very well get you killed as well," the instructor said with great emphasis on the word 'killed'; and Nick could practically hear the bunnies among his fellow recruits shrinking back in clear intimidation.

"Now then, we've got all day ahead of us, cadets, so no more sitting around. Time for you all to get serious! I want you all to give me 20 laps and gather at the Sahara course! Anyone caught lagging behind will be giving me 100 pushups and starting all over again! Now go, go, go!"

Like a fire had been lit underneath all their hides; Nick and all his fellow recruits practically jumped and were already taking off in a great sprint across the field to a narrow strip of road with several lines painted across it, as if it were a high school track. The bigger mammals of course were able to cover more distance very quickly, but Nick and his fellow smaller mammals were surprisingly manage to keep their own with their counterparts, especially the bunnies to nobody's surprise.

While the coolness of the rushing morning air did make the experience much more pleasant and helped to really make Nick wake up from his drowsiness, the eventual exhaustion of the non-stop running began to get to him around the fifth lap. Sure, his jogs before had really helped him in the long run, since the academy campus was a lot wider than he'd initially expected; he still hadn't made constant running or jogging a real habit, so he was still considerably out of shape compared to most of the other cadets. But the thought of the instructor calling him out and making him start all over again continuously gave him a whole new jumpstart of adrenaline. If anyone had slowed down enough to get a good look at the fox whenever he got himself to really get moving again, they'd all see an undeniable determination rather than desperation in his expression.

But if the nightmarish 20 laps wasn't enough to make him wanna lay down and surrender, then the Sahara Square course they met their instructor at definitely was enough to make him involuntarily groan in despair; for before them stood a vast stretch of sand set up before a series of gigantic industrial fans; all set up under a rack of glowing heat lamps. The cadets could even see and feel the immense heat waves emanating from the course just from where they were all standing.

If Nick hadn't been so desperate to catch his breath and psych himself up for whatever new torture he was about to be put through, he almost would've thought the instructor was smiling at them all sadistically.

"Alright, cadets. So far you've at least managed to show me you've got the determination. But now let's see how you fare with an actual challenge. Walking the beat in any of the environments of Zootopia is easy for any mammal. But it's dealing with each environments natural hazards you have to learn to properly handle. Now all of you get on the far end of the course. It's time to see how you all can manage through a scorching sandstorm!"

And with those words, the polar bear flipped on a switch, and the fans all immediately roared to life; sending a blinding cloud of burning hot sand right into the cadets' faces; forcing Nick to nearly bury his muzzle into the sand so it didn't keep getting in his eyes.

' _Oh my God, Carrots, you're insane! How did you even get through this torture?!'_ the fox was mentally screaming in desperation as he could barely make out the shapes of his fellow cadets slowly crawling their way through the sandstorm. He couldn't make out any of the bunny cadets, but he was willing to bet they'd taken the easy way out and burrowed into the sand and were making their way down the course as such.

' _Okay, guess I answered my own question. Well…just you wait, Fluff…cause here I come,'_ he resolved as he struggled to start making his way across the sand; the heat nearly scorching his paw pads despite how hard he tried to ignore both it; the sunlamps beating down on him from above and the sand constantly flying into his face.

It felt like hours he was blindly making his way through the storm. He wasn't even bothering looking for any signs he was making progress. All he could think now was to keep moving forward and try to fight back against the insane wind pressure as best he could.

However, before he even realized what was happening, he suddenly felt the edge of the course in his paws; and upon pulling himself up enough to the point he could actually open his eyes, he was met with the somewhat discouraging sight of virtually all his fellow cadets and the instructor all clearly impatiently waiting on him.

"Well, congratulations, Wilde. You're officially the first fox to make it through the Sahara course; even if you are dead last. But this is just the beginning. Now get up, and all of you give me another twenty laps and meet me at the Rainforest course on the double," the instructor shouted as Nick tried to get onto his feet despite how much his whole body was practically screaming for him to just stop.

' _Who cares if I'm last? I'm not giving up, no chance. Sorry, legs; you're just gonna have to bear with me. Besides, they can't keep us going non-stop ALL day…right?'_

 **Later that evening…**

"Aaaaaagh…oh good lord…Carrots…you wanted me to be your partner just knowing I'd be going through this…didn't you?" Nick cried out in exhausted pain, primarily to himself as he struggled to keep from collapsing underneath the frigid running water of the shower in the locker room.

' _I…I officially…take back…EVERYTHINGI said…about you never becoming a real cop…they should give mammals a MEDAL just for surviving this,'_ the suffering voice in his head echoed out as he desperately tried to scrub away whatever sand or mud might've still been in his fur. Just as he'd feared, the instructor kept all the cadets going non-stop between all her different environmental courses. And with each one, he either ended up being the last one to reach the end, or he ended up falling face first into the mud; with that same instructor like clockwork constantly stating how dead he was.

But by some divine providence, now so late into the day, she had stated their training for the day was through and that they all had some immense room for improvement, though he couldn't help but think she was backhandedly referring to him specifically.

Right now, all he wanted to think about was getting some food in his stomach and sleeping for the rest of his life, otherwise his aching limbs would never forgive him. At least the cold water washed the soreness away.

A short while later, once he'd finally gotten the chance to quiet his incessantly growling stomach (even despite the nearly soul-crushing disappointment of no blueberries); he was practically dragging his aching feet down the halls of the dorm to his room, eyes glued to the floor as he didn't even have the energy to think anymore, especially since he had no doubt his brain would only want to torment him by reminding him tomorrow would be just as horrible as this one.

The miserable fox didn't even bother turning on the lights to his dorm once he actually got in; instead making one last desperate effort to make it just enough so he could just collapse in bed and just try to pretend today was nothing but a bad dream. But as he rolled onto his back in an attempt to get comfortable; his gaze very quickly went to his phone sitting on the nightstand nearby, as if it was silently beckoning for him.

On one hand, his body was so exhausted, he wasn't even sure if he could even will himself just to reach out and grab it, no matter how much he wanted to. Then on the other hand, getting to see and talk to good ol' Carrots sounded like the perfect thing to at least end the day on a positive note.

Ignoring the aching in his arm, he quickly swiped the phone off the table and was soon staring at his screen, waiting for an answer. And just like clockwork, with a little electronic *ping*, he was staring at the bright smiling face of his favorite bunny similarly laid out on her own bed back home.

"Hey, there he is. And here I was thinking they'd have you doing obstacle courses all night," Judy greeted him with an amused grin as Nick let out the weakest sarcastic chuckle he could.

"Please, don't jinx it, Carrots. I think I might still have sand in places I didn't even know I had," Nick lamented; trying to ignore the fact his clear aching actually got a giggle out of his friend.

"First day of training didn't go so smooth, I take it?" she asked as Nick let out an involuntary groan as he just stared up at the ceiling as if to just show her how worn out he was after only one day.

"I can't feel my arms and legs anymore, Carrots…I don't think that's normal. If I don't make it out of here alive, find Finnick and tell him my Prints **(Prince)** records are all his. I kinda promised a while back," Nick bemoaned as though he were on his deathbed, not even seeing Judy stifle another laugh; rolling her eyes at his melodrama.

"The first day's always the hardest, Nick; believe me. It'll become more bearable as time goes by," Judy said in assurance as Nick got back onto his side to at least give her his full attention.

"Well, obviously it didn't go as bad as I feared it would, because I'm still here. I mean, I may have come in dead last on the courses I even made it through, but at least I made it, right?" he asked rhetorically as Judy's smile carried an unavoidable hint of pride in him. Just seeing that instantly made all this suffering worth it, even though he didn't dare show it.

"At least you actually made it to the end of any courses on your first day. I…actually didn't make even one finish line when I tried; and don't you dare say a word, or so help me I'm hanging up," Judy reluctantly admitted only to immediately switch to a joking stern tone once she saw the surprised grin on the fox's face to hear he actually had something over her.

"Oh, you know I wouldn't dare, Carrots. You still have the badge to rub my face in, so I'm not lording anything over you just yet," Nick reassured her as the two quickly fell into another comfortable silence, as though just relishing in the fact they got to look at each other and not have to worry about anything else.

"I know today was really hard on you, Nick. It's usually what makes or breaks the recruits if my time there was any indication. You're still there, and that's really going to show them how serious you are about this. I'm really glad you're not giving up," Judy said with immense gratitude as Nick couldn't help but feel a swelling of pride in his chest now that she could put all his pain into perspective.

"Hey, I'm a mammal of my word, Fluff. They haven't kicked me out yet, so I'm still doing my best. I'll bet you can say the same too. How does it feel to be working behind that badge again? I hope they kept your meter maid vest warm for you," Nick teased as Judy immediately flushed with embarrassment while still smiling playfully back at him. Figures, even unendurable bodily pain couldn't keep him from making his terrible jokes.

"Yeah, keep laughing, clever fox. I'll make sure they have one waiting for you too when you eventually get here. We'll be at the bottom rung of the ZPD ladder together," Judy shot right back at him, and the fox of course couldn't help but imagine them both in that lame-looking reflective vest with the tacky little hat atop his head. At least it looked cute on Judy once he actually thought about it.

"Yeah, get to write tickets and have mammals wish a curse on our house together; it sounds like a ball," Nick humored her as the two couldn't help but laugh. Sure, getting ridiculed by the public for giving them parking tickets was a real disheartening experience, but at least they wouldn't have to put up with it alone.

"So is everything else going okay there so far?" Judy asked as Nick seemed to be deep in thought; over what she couldn't guess.

"Well, I guess. I haven't talked to any of the other recruits and they haven't made any effort to talk to me. I guess they're all too focused on getting through the next few months. Not that I can blame them, I'll have to be like that too, huh? I can't exactly say the food is top notch either. Seriously, what kind of place in this day and age doesn't have ONE blueberry? How is that even possible?"

While Nick continued on, Judy couldn't help but very lightly giggle listening to him. It did her so much unspoken good every day to be able to at least hear his voice. It made the apartment so much less lonely for her at night, and she wouldn't doubt the same went for his end too.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, oh picky fox, you CAN get parcels mailed from the outside. I can see about getting some of my family's blueberries sent to you in the next couple days," she offered; and like a switch had been flipped, every trace of exhaustion and pain on Nick's face instantly disappeared and he looked like a kit that had just gotten everything he wanted from Santa all at once.

"You'd really do that for me? Oh, Carrots, you are a lifesaver! I won't forget this, just you wait! I will pay you back for this and then some," Nick was practically bowing to her from his end of the screen as Judy smiled warmly to see that same enthusiastic Nick back again.

"It's a promise. Well, I better let you get some sleep. There's no slowing down for either of us now," Judy stated as Nick gave her a pretend sad look as if silently pleading for her not to go already; prompting her to give him a big-eyed sad look of her own as if trying to look overly apologetic.

"Alright, I guess I understand. I mean how much worse could it get, right?" Nick asked sarcastically as Judy gave him a momentary look of warning and concern.

"You might not wanna start tomorrow thinking that, Nick. It sounds like they haven't even gotten you started on self-defense training yet. First time I went into that, I think it took three days for my head to finally stop spinning completely," Judy said in painful reminiscence just thinking about what a heavy single blow she'd taken to pretty much her entire body.

"I'll be sure to remember that, Carrots. We both know running from danger is one of the things I do best," Nick attempted to reassure her as she immediately felt another smile coming to see him choosing to remain so good-natured despite the potential pain coming his way. That kind of optimism couldn't be anything other than a good sign for him.

"That is true, sly fox. And…well, I know I said this last night already, but if there's ever anything troubling you, please don't hesitate to tell me, okay?" Judy reminded as Nick looked to be deep in thought again. Memories of the hateful graffiti from last night came to mind. SHOULD he tell her? It was definitely something that hadn't fully left his mind yet. But on the other hand, he was tired of essentially running away from his problems or turning to others to solve them for him. He wanted to conquer this whole thing on his own, and he especially didn't want to make that well-meaning bunny worry needlessly over him.

"I know, Carrots, and I will if something ever comes up. I promise," he said with clear honesty; trying not to look flushed at the look of sheer gratitude and happiness beaming from Judy's smile to hear him place such confidence in her like she did for him.

With nearly nothing left to say, the two mammals ended their call for the night; officially ready to face whatever challenges tomorrow and the many days after that had in store for them.

 **One month later…**

"Happy Birthday to you," the family had just finished singing in massive unison before Judy and the rest of her siblings from her specific litter all blew out their candles to enormous applause echoing through the Hopps family household.

Being so caught up in her work, Judy had nearly forgotten about her 25th birthday coming up so quick. For once, she was actually glad her parents made a point to call her at least once a day, or else it would've passed by and she wouldn't have even noticed. But at least once they reminded her, she was able to convince Chief Bogo to let her visit Bunnyburrow for the weekend to celebrate.

It had been so relieving to get to see home again without the downcast feeling of failure like the last time she'd returned. Her whole family was so happy to see her again, with the customary introduction of practically having to crawl out from under her 275 siblings in order to actually greet her parents. Pretty much the entire day since then was nothing but dancing, laughing, partying and Judy having to try and answer the literal thousands of questions her wide-eyed curious little brothers and sisters had about Zootopia and what being a cop was like. It was no doubt Bonnie and Stu hadn't told them the more unpleasant details they'd gotten from her about her first official case, otherwise they all probably would've been begging her not to leave once this weekend was over.

But at the end of the day, everyone was just happy to be back together again and to have their big sister back from the big city to celebrate with them. After what felt like hours of constant chatter, laughter and carrot cake, things began to finally settle down at least somewhat as the youngest of the children began to be ushered off to bed by their elders while Bonnie, Stu, Judy and the oldest children began the arduous chore of cleaning up the house. Sure it was tiring, but just to be able to be here with her family again after what felt like months on end made it all worth it.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Bonnie congratulated her daughter with a strong, loving hug as Judy couldn't help but laugh in the mildest embarrassment before hugging her mother in return.

"Thank you so much again for putting all this together for us, Mom," Judy said gratefully as she and Bonnie pulled away to continue with their task of cleaning the kitchen while everyone else tended to the rest of the house.

"Of course, Judy, we didn't want any of you to miss your special day. We were originally planning to all come to Zootopia together to surprise you," Bonnie admitted as Judy couldn't help but mentally sigh in relief that she'd dodged that bullet. While a surprise party at home would've been a blast, she didn't like the idea of one of her curious little siblings wandering off and pointing out to everyone there was a second bedroom in the apartment. The questions and suspicions from everyone would've been nothing short of overwhelming if that were the case.

"I appreciate you all thinking of that, but I know the Fall harvest is so close by. I didn't want you guys to risk missing that and have any of the crops go bad because you weren't around. Besides, I was beginning to miss this place myself," Judy admitted while Bonnie couldn't help but give a quiet chuckle of amusement. Same old Judy, always as thoughtful of others and the family as she'd always been, even when it meant inconveniencing herself to some extent.

"Well, I hope someday you'll let us come visit you in Zootopia. I know the kids have really been interested in seeing it ever since they saw you on TV last month. And of course me and Stu just wanna see that you're taking proper care of yourself and that you're safe, that's all," Bonnie explained as Judy couldn't help but smile to herself in mild amusement. She may now have been 25, but she'd always be their baby no matter what, and that was always going to show in some way; though she couldn't deny it was a very touching feeling that they'd always care so much.

"I'd really like that. The place is great and I get along with all my coworkers, but it…CAN get kinda lonely sometimes," Judy admitted with great reluctance. There was no way her mother was just going to not ask questions upon hearing that.

"Well, haven't you made friends with any of your coworkers? I may not know much about how things work there, but I can't imagine you don't get a chance to socialize with at least a few of them every now and again," Bonnie asked concernedly as Judy mentally sighed to herself. She was right on the money.

"Well, I may get to talk to a few every once in a while, but we're usually so busy we don't have the time. I mean, I get along with our front desk officer Clawhauser just fine; we listen to a lot of the same music, but I don't REALLY know him too well beyond that," Judy explained, now unable to keep from feeling slightly embarrassed that she hadn't really made much of any kind of effort over the last month to really connect with any of her coworkers besides their good-natured cheetah desk officer.

"Well, what about that fox; oh, what was his name again…er, Nick Wilde? The one the news said you solved that big case with? If he'd helped you with that whole mess, I would've imagined you must've gotten along to some degree to work together on something like that," Bonnie suddenly asked, nearly causing Judy to drop the stack of dishes in her paws that the fox's name was suddenly being brought up in the last place she ever expected it to.

"Oh, well…um, you see, we do get along really well, and I owe him a lot for…a lot of things, but—"Judy began to nervously say, trying to choose her words carefully. While Bonnie was always the more understanding of her parents, there was still no telling what would happen if she found out the full extent of what her daughters' relationship with Nick was. Albeit, Judy still hated the idea that she'd essentially been lying to her family this whole time about her new living situation, and a part of her kept telling her if she didn't take this opportunity to tell at least her mother the truth, she'd be regretting it like crazy. And besides, her mother always seemed the type who could keep a secret if asked.

"Is he living with you, Judy? Is that why you didn't want us to visit when you got out of the hospital?" Bonnie suddenly asked; earning a look of wide-eyed and silent astonishment from her daughter as her face just seemed to scream 'how did you know?'.

"Being a mother to 276 kids, you come to learn how to see when they're hiding something. That, and the way you were stalling…well, it kinda reminded me of myself when I was your age too and didn't know how to admit something to my parents," Bonnie explained as Judy just looked on in amazement, quickly followed by guilt now that the truth was finally out.

"I was going to tell you eventually, I promise. It's just…well, I know you guys became partners with Gideon, but I wasn't sure about—" Judy began to apologetically explain before Bonnie suddenly silenced her with a supportive paw on her shoulder.

"You thought your father and I would probably be scared for you because you're personally living with a fox. I understand why you might've thought so, Judy; and I can't exactly say the news has me completely unworried, but here's the thing: we're your parents; worrying for our children is what we do, no matter how old and independent they become. There's no getting around that. However, even despite how scared we may have been for your safety, we never once wanted to get in the way of you doing whatever made you happy. As scared as you going off to Zootopia to become a cop made us, we still knew it was what you wanted to do, and that's why we ultimately let you go.

"In the end, honey, all we've ever wanted was for you to be safe and also happy. And that's why I just need to ask you this. This fox, Nick, you're living with…do YOU feel safe around him?" Bonnie finally asked as Judy couldn't help but feel a swelling of emotional tears in her eyes to listen to her mother be so understanding even when faced with being temporarily lied to by her own daughter.

"Mom…I-I…yes. Nick has to be one of the best mammals I know. With the exception of you and the rest of the family, I don't think I've ever felt as safe around anyone as I do with him," the grey bunny finally admitted as Bonnie gave a relieved and approving smile with a nod of understanding; seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"Good. And…are you happy around him?" she finally asked as Judy felt much more at ease while also trying to fight the oncoming heat in her cheeks. Of all the questions to bring that fluster back.

"Absolutely. I've never gotten along with another mammal as well as I have with him. We've…we've done a lot of good for each other, and I know he feels the same way. The day always seems so much more fun to face just knowing he's around. I wish you and dad could be able to meet him, Mom; I know you'd absolutely love him," Judy admitted with an embarrassed smile; which Bonnie instantly noticed but chose not to point out. She'd never seen her Judy look so shy talking about any male before. For a mother, it was such a strangely heartwarming sight to see; even if it did come from her talking about a fox.

"You've always had a good sense about others, sweetie, so I'm sure I would. But I'm curious, if he's living with you, why didn't he come down to visit with you?" she asked curiously as Judy let out a heavy sigh. Might as well go all the way with this story now.

"Well…it's because he's currently training at the ZPD academy right now. He's…he's training so he can officially be my partner on the force," she finally said; to which Bonnie put her paws to her mouth in great surprise.

"Oh, Judy, that sounds incredible. If this Nick really does make you feel as happy and safe in your normal life, then I'm sure you'd never be in danger on the job either. Oh, I should tell your father and the kids. They'll be so glad to hear—" bonnie began to say before making her way out the kitchen, only for Judy to suddenly stopped her with a paw on the shoulder.

"Mom…could…could you please just keep this a secret between us, just for now? I know you and dad just want me happy and safe, but…I-I just don't know if dad would take me working and living full-time with a fox as well as you have. Honestly, I'm still kind of surprised you took it so well," Judy asked with clear regret as Bonnie looked momentarily disappointed before forming a much more understanding smile before pulling her daughter into a gentle hug.

"I understand, honey. Stu HAS always been a bit more…well, prone to letting his emotions get the better of him when it comes to you and the kids. You just tell me when you're ready for him to know," Bonnie accepted as Judy hugged her mother back in gratitude. Now more than ever, she couldn't have been more thankful to have such a supportive doe for a mother.

 **Later that evening…**

Judy had finally retired to her old bedroom after helping Bonnie clean the rest of the dishes and the dining room. Her parents and the rest of her siblings had already retired to their own beds, but thankfully the farm was profitable enough for them to afford a house where each child had their own bedroom. The last thing she wanted right now was for one of her siblings to catch her on her nightly phone chat with Nick and having all the others crowd around her too.

Once again like every evening, she found it hard to lie still with the excitement of not only seeing Nick again, but getting to finally let it out that at least her mother knew about him and approved of their living together. It was still such a relief to get that whole mess out in the open.

She kept instinctively looking at the clock on her phone, but to her surprise, the phone remained completely silent at the time Nick almost always called.

' _Huh, that's odd. He's usually so good about calling when he says he will,'_ she thought confusedly to herself as she momentarily put it back on the nightstand; staring out at the starry night sky outside her window in an attempt to pass the time.

After several more minutes of dead silence, she was officially worried. Not once had the instructors ever kept her and her fellow recruits training this late into the night, so that immediately had to mean something was very wrong. And if he wasn't going to be able to reach out to her, then it was obvious what she had to do.

After hitting his name on the screen, Judy could only lie in bed and stare at the screen in anticipation; each second seeming to drag on as she kept expecting every moment to see Nick's face greeting her and putting her worries to rest.

But then to her even great concern, the waiting chime for his answer ran its course and the call was dropped.

' _What is going on? Why isn't he answering? Nick, where are you?'_ were just some of the questions that came to mind as she immediately hit the contact button again and was once again waiting for some kind of response.

This time, there was an electronic *ping* of the call being answered; and Judy nearly felt her breaths of anticipation getting caught in her throat as she quickly prepared to see Nick and finally be able to share everything from today…

…only to be met with the image of Nick Wilde looking at her with regret, with one of his eyes swollen shut.

"Nick! Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay?" came out of her mouth pretty much instantly as Nick seemed to visibly flinch away from the screen, as if he'd been dreading this kind of reaction.

"Nice to see you too, Carrots. This is nothing. I just got a little in over my head in the self-defense class ring, that's all," Nick attempted to reassure her with his typical casual grin. But something felt immensely off to Judy the more she looked at him. There was a certain air of confidence usually in his tone whenever he spoke, and her ears weren't picking up any of it this time. And on top of that, his one open green eye was continuously looking past the phone in his paws, almost as though he was deliberately trying to avoid looking her in the eye.

"Nick…Nick, please look at me," Judy said as firm yet calmly as she could; and after several seconds of clear mental struggling, Nick finally brought himself to make eye contact.

"Please…what really happened?" she asked, and for a while there was only unbearable heavy silence. Despite saying nothing, Nick so clearly looked to be fighting a war in his own head while constantly opening his mouth to speak, only to fall silent. Finally, his quiet sadness gave way to frustration as he couldn't help but let out an angered growl to himself before finally pounding his paw down.

"It's MY problem to deal with, Carrots; it doesn't concern you! Don't go worrying yourself needlessly over MY baggage, alright?" Nick unexpectedly snapped; and instead of sadness, Judy could only feel a flaring of what she could tell was some kind of anger, build up inside her.

"Excuse me? How can you expect me to just sit back and ignore seeing you like THAT?" she immediately snapped back; earning a clearly surprised look from Nick. He'd honestly been expecting the naturally emotional bunny to break down into tears, but no; this was something else entirely he was experiencing.

"Nick, you're my best friend, so I'm going to be worried when I see my best friend is clearly hurt and not willing to let me in and tell me what caused it. I'm not going to just ignore it when the people I love are in trouble. Do you understand?" she asked as she finally managed to calm herself down some while Nick looked to be ashamed of how he'd reacted to her.

"Yeah…I understand, Carrots. Why would I expect anything else?" he asked with an exhausted sarcastic tone as the two couldn't even find the energy to even pretend to laugh; once again falling into that uncomfortable silence.

"Please talk to me, Nick. What exactly happened?" Judy asked as softly as she possibly could while Nick let out a weary sigh, trying to psyche himself up to go back to his most recent unpleasant memory.

 **Earlier that evening…**

Another exhausting yet ultimately fulfilling day of training. Yes, each day still brought its aches and pains, but like Judy kept reminding him every night, he would grow more and more used to it. And fortunately, he did.

The instructor had decided to end today with some self-defense practice. This was easily the one part of training Nick always found himself dreading anymore. He'd managed to get the hang of the obstacle courses, and the written tests were surprisingly easy after he took the time to actually study in his alone time. But the self-defense was a nightmare since he always found himself against a mammal nearly ten times his size.

Judy wasn't kidding how painful that part was going to be. It had to have been a week until Nick's head finally stopped ringing from the blow that tiger had given him right from the start of the fight. But thankfully nowadays, whenever Nick was in the ring he'd learned to let his natural light-footed instinct carry him; making him a lot harder for his opponents to hit. And by some divine intervention, today had nabbed him his very first victory, and against a lion no less.

Needless to say, nick was feeling quite proud of himself for being so much quicker to learn this far into his training, and there was a clear grin of satisfaction on his face as he stepped out of the locker room, ready to finally get some more food before turning in for the night.

Upon rounding one of the corners leading to the cafeteria, his gaze once more fell upon a glass display that had caught his attention pretty much every day since a couple weeks ago. It was a huge display of photos of every academy graduate dating back years and years in Zootopia's history. And standing in a particularly honorable spot nearly top row and center above the rest was a photo of Judy at her graduation ceremony, standing beside Mayor Lionheart with probably the brightest and proudest smile on her face.

For some reason, it always made Nick feel so much more confident in his chances of getting through this academy whenever he saw the sheer optimism reflected in that bunny's eyes in that photo. It was the look that reflected how the world was literally all open before her and she'd in that instant been granted infinite opportunities. Deep down, he couldn't help but silently hope he could even manage to look even half as hopeful as her if luck were to be on his side and he could graduate as well.

"Trying to envision how you'll look on that wall someday, Wilde?" the respect-demanding voice of their polar bear instructor suddenly spoke from right behind the fox, immediately getting him standing stiff and at attention before she motioned for him to calm himself. She naturally had that effect on all her trainees; and she had proven to be exceptionally strict even after she stated training for the day was over. Anyone could just ask the handful of cadets she'd forced to do 100 laps around the academy a couple days ago for cutting in line during dinner.

"No, ma'am; just admiring the view is all. It's still really impressive how many mammals graduated from here," Nick admitted before returning his attention to the extensive gallery of photos.

"Yeah, I found it pretty impressive myself when I was standing where you are. It's hard to believe these are only from the last 40 years, too. All the older ones are safely kept in storage to avoid wear and tear," the instructor admitted as she stood respectfully at Nick's side; that strict authoritarian demeanor actually managing to fade, as though they were simply comrades rather than teacher and instructor.

"You know, before Mayor Lionheart announced the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, every batch of recruits consisted of your usual bears, lions, tigers, wolves, elephants, rhinos; maybe the occasional cheetah or mountain lion or jaguar. Once that little bunny up there got accepted into the academy, I knew things were going to change around here for good. I've been training recruits for the ZPD for years, and when Judy Hopps first came here, I never thought she'd make it. I was convinced if the training didn't force her to go home, she'd get eaten alive on her first day of duty. But no matter what, she never gave up and just kept pushing herself to her limit. Little bunny like that became Valedictorian of her class by the time it was over. I still find it just incredible thinking back on it.

"And now we have more bunnies enlisting, a beaver, and of course you, our first fox. Had someone told me I'd be training smaller mammals like you for Zootopia's finest a year ago, I would've either called them a liar or just plain crazy. But just look at what we have now. It really does go to show what even the smallest mammals are capable of," the instructor said in clear reminiscence as she too looked at the photo of Judy on the wall; a great air of pride hanging on her words as though she were speaking of the greatest student she'd ever had.

"I know what you mean. She, uh…she's what inspired me to try my luck here," Nick admitted, not even caring if he made his and Judy's connection obvious as he couldn't help but actually feel proud of Judy for how far she'd made it as well.

"She's inspired a lot of changes already, and I know it's far from over. I've already got enlistment papers from all over the place outside Zootopia. I've even got otters and even gerbils and mice wanting to try their paws at joining the ZPD. We're gonna need to build a mini academy for them before too long if the enlistment numbers get high enough," the instructor explained in a semi-humorous tone as Nick couldn't keep from imagining an entire police force of the tiniest mammals working alongside the literal big leagues of law enforcement.

"You know, I know exactly who you are, Wilde. I've seen the news too. After what you and Hopps managed to do, I guess it only makes sense you'd want to become a cop officially once all is said and done," the polar bear finally said bluntly as she turned to look down upon the miniscule fox as if silently forcing him to give her his full attention as she towered over him.

"You know what one of the most important aspects about being a cop is? It's not just how strong, fast, smart or tough you are. In a lot of mammal's cases, you need to have a natural gut instinct for what the job entails. That entails knowing how to read every situation, how to approach every possible mammal, and also having a good ability to read other mammals; have a good understanding of what kind of mammal an individual really is. There are those that have those instincts and those that don't. When the training was all over, I knew Hopps had to have the sharpest natural instincts for the job I'd ever seen in all my years. If she had a good enough feeling about you to want to recommend you for the ZPD, then I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

"You've been showing a lot of improvement over this last month, Wilde. If you keep it up, you might just have what it takes in the force after all," the instructor finally finished, and Nick felt a gasp get caught in his throat as he honestly couldn't think of how to answer such words of confidence coming from the mammal who'd pretty much been the bane of his existence since he first came here. Just knowing he'd been able to actually make a good impression on her of all people had the fox feeling for a moment he could literally take on the word.

"Thank you, ma'am. I swear I'm not going to let you down," Nick stated as politely yet gratefully and professionally as he could before the instructor gave him a respectful salute before heading off on her own business; leaving the fox to his own thoughts as he began to make the rest of his way to the cafeteria; continuously thinking about what she'd said.

Once he'd finally gotten his fill for the day, Nick eagerly made his way down the hall for his dorm. The praise he'd received had him feeling so light on his feet, it seemed almost unreal. He honestly couldn't wait to tell Judy the good news. If seeing the pride in his instructor had him feeling so good, there was no telling what the pride from his favorite bunny would do.

Not wanting to waste any time, Nick stepped into his dorm and flipped the light on; only for his ears to fold down as his eyes immediately locked in on words written in red paint adorning the wall over his bed that read: _GO HOME, FOX!_

Nick felt all his enthusiasm die out like a flame before a raging wind the instant he saw the hateful graffiti that'd mercifully been kept out of his dorm for the last month. Why did it suddenly come back? Who was responsible?

In the split second after those thoughts entered his head; Nick's natural instincts suddenly kicked in as his sharp ears suddenly focused in on a very distressing fact his entire body somehow managed to feel for that one instant: he wasn't alone in this room.

Instantly turning around on his feet, Nick was met with the most unexpected sight he could've thought to see here: he was met by none other than that same solitary beaver recruit that he'd been training alongside. He was just as small as any other beavers Nick had passed by on the streets; maybe a bit rounder in girth. But one thing Nick immediately noticed was the look of sheer contempt in the flat-tailed mammal's eyes as he stared up at the fox.

"You just don't know when to give up and go home, do you?" the beaver asked with no traceable emotion as he stood up straight, as if to try and show he wasn't intimidated while Nick couldn't even think of what to say. There was no question this had to be the one spreading these hateful warnings, but why was he actually bothering to reveal himself now?

"You really think the ZPD's going to let a shifty, lying con-mammal like you into their ranks, just because that bunny cop is your friend? You really think nobody's going to try and stop them from making that mistake?" the beaver continued as he started to approach Nick; his tone both threatening yet somehow also mocking as well, as if he was intentionally trying to get into Nick's head and break his confidence. At this moment, something about this beaver seemed…unsettlingly familiar to Nick, yet he couldn't quite figure out what it was at this moment.

"Why have you been doing this? I haven't even said anything to you, let alone done anything to you," Nick tried to defend himself while the beaver looked unconvinced.

"Who ever said you had to do anything to me to make me do this? You predators have always been our enemy. Sure, someone little like me can't do much of anything against something like a lion or a tiger or a bear…but foxes are something I can definitely deal with. I've had some…experience," the beaver explained with a devious grin, almost as if just the thought of tormenting a predator was personally enjoyable to him.

"I'm smart enough to know using violence won't be enough to get you out of here and remove any risk of your kind ever joining the police. What good is the mistrust of one mammal against another, when you can help turn others against him? Besides, it's not like anyone's ever trusted foxes to begin with. Being what you are makes that part much easier for me from the get-go," the beaver taunted; and all at once nick's shell-shocked confusion flared into anger as he couldn't stand to just sit here and take this undeserved verbal abuse.

"Look, I don't know WHAT your problem is with me, but I suggest you back away before either of us ends up doing something we regret. I don't want to get violent, but I'm not going to just sit here and listen to you threaten me, understand? Who even are you, anyway?" Nick attempted to intimidate the beaver into backing off; clenching his paws along with his ears folding back and his tail bristling. But nonetheless, the beaver was unconvinced. Instead, he looked to almost relish in getting a reaction out of the fox.

"Wow, you really DON'T remember, do you? I would've sworn you would after last time. But I guess 20 or 21 years will do that to a mammal. But I'll answer your question for you," the beaver said with a delighted smirk. And like a shot, before Nick could even think to react, the beaver suddenly jumped up to be level with the fox's face, and with surprising speed, planted a tiny balled fist into his eye; sending Nick sprawling back into his bed completely and utterly stunned as his brain tried to process the flaring pain ringing in his head as he couldn't see out of his left eye anymore.

Before he could even gather what had really happened, he suddenly felt the beaver's tiny paws grab onto his left paw, and his ears picked up the metallic clicking of handcuffs being closed firmly around his wrist, immediately followed by the opposite cuff being locked around one of the corner posts of his bed; effectively restraining Nick so he couldn't run away or attack once he regained his senses.

"Here's a little hint: nothing's changed from how it was back then, Wilde. If you think the ZPD or the people of Zootopia will EVER trust a fox, with or without a badge…then you're just as stupid now as you were back then," the beaver whispered tauntingly; and the memory of some of those key words being spoken to him before immediately made nick's mind flash back to that night that destroyed his life; the night his faith and hope for the world died when he was 8 or 9 years old. His eyes slowly grew with shock and despair as he looked upon the grinning beaver watching the fox silently suffer from his worst memory as he stood at his bedside.

"Yeah, you remember now, don't you, stupid fox? When I saw the news about you and that stupid bunny actually solving that whole missing mammal's case, I had a feeling you'd come crawling here. No way am I just gonna do nothing and let a fox serve under a badge. Predators like you don't belong in that world, and you never did," the beaver whispered with sheer venom and scorn. While Nick was too deep in his own mental oblivion to even try and say or do anything, the beaver calmly undid the handcuffs and tucked them into his pocket while Nick just stared absently at him in shock and speechless horror.

"You can go ahead and keep pretending you'll actually manage to make it through this place and be accepted. I figure that'd make it more worthwhile when it's all taken from you. And besides, I'm sure you know if you even try to get back at me, I can just tell the higher ups you attacked me. Honestly, who do you think they're going to believe?" the beaver taunted as his silhouette cast a domineering shadow over Nick's nearly comatose form before he let out an amused but devious chuckle before shutting off the light and slamming the door shut; having finally made his message loud and clear and leaving Nick in complete and utter darkness, both physically and emotionally.

 **Present…**

"And it was an hour later that you ended up calling," Nick finally finished explaining the end to what had quickly become his most unbearable experience. By this point, Judy had silent tears running down her grey fuzzy cheeks as she was absolutely speechless. How could something this cruel happen in the academy's walls and nobody even notice or try to do anything about it? And what kind of sadistic twist of fate was this for one of the mammals to break Nick so completely to suddenly be back in his life again, and he be left with nothing to effectively do about it?

"Oh, Nick…I'm so sorry…I-I wish I could've known—" Judy instinctively felt the need to express her sympathies, only for Nick to let out an exasperated sigh, effectively silencing the bunny as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"There's no way you could've known, Carrots. That goes for both of us. The only thing that matters is that it's happening now, and there's nothing either of us can do about it. I just…I'm sorry, too. I should've just told you about that stupid graffiti from the start. I just didn't want you to drive yourself up the wall worrying about me," Nick lamented as Judy wiped the tears from her eyes, since nick was clearly trying his best not to let his no doubt frantic emotions get the better of him.

"I understand why you chose not to, Nick. Really, I do. But please, from now on, don't feel like you need to keep these kinds of things to yourself, okay? You know I trust you more than anyone; but I want you to be able to trust me too," Judy said imploringly as Nick looked legitimately regretful for clearly not putting as much faith in her as she put in him. Finally, he willed himself to nod in acceptance.

"Nick…if I'd known this would happen; I wouldn't have tried to convince you to do this. You've suffered because of that mammal enough as it is, I don't want you to have to put yourself through any more. If you want to come home, I wouldn't blame you for it in the slightest. You know I'll always be proud of you just for making it this far," Judy offered as Nick raised his head to look at her in surprise that she was actually offering such an option to him. For a moment, he looked visibly conflicted before a glimmer of resignation reflected in his one good eye.

"Thank you, Carrots. It really does mean a lot to hear you say so…but I'm not leaving," Nick stated firmly; prompting Judy to look at the fox as though he'd lost his mind before opening her mouth to speak.

"I've lived my whole life running away from my problems; trying to ignore the things that got to me and letting my own pain toward the world drive me forward. I'm tired of living that life, Carrots. This is the first choice for my life I made of my own volition, even though I have you to thank for pointing me in that direction. I'm not going to let us both down by calling quits on it now. So don't bother trying to convince me to pack it in, alright I'm seeing this through to the end, one way or another," Nick announced with such courage and acceptance, Judy found it nothing less than worthy of the utmost admiration. In that moment, he sounded more like a true cop than she'd ever thought he possibly could. She tried to fight back her tears of pride and happiness before managing to recollect herself.

"I understand, Nick. I'll respect your decisions, no matter what. But at least let me do something to help make the rest of your time there at least a little easier, okay?"

 **The next evening…**

The day had come and gone just as slowly and painfully as all the other days; but this time, Nick could practically feel that beaver's judgmental and conniving glare digging into his back nearly every step of the way, and it made the physical pain somehow even worse; just knowing that his real enemy was right there at his side, just waiting with every moment to make his move and reduce all of the fox's sacrifices and efforts to nothing.

He'd managed to ward off the instructor's prying by explaining his black eye was the result of falling out of his bed and banging his face on his nightstand. Thankfully she'd managed to buy it and had him properly patched up in the infirmary. If she'd found out the truth, there was no telling what that beaver would've done to turn the tables on Nick and ruin his new life.

At least now he could at least look forward to another night of trying to forget everything weighing down on his shoulders and silently and no doubt hopelessly wishing the next day would somehow be better. And of course there was always the possibility that the little monster would just be waiting for him in his dorm again to give him another session of ridicule and psychological abuse.

However, much to Nick's surprise, when he approached the door to his dorm, he was met with a small package sitting at the foot of it. Momentarily at a loss to what it could be, he knelt down to pick it up and look at the address. His spirits instantly lifted to see Judy's name and her street address in Bunnyburrow as the senders' address. He was honestly at a loss; she really did mean it when she told him how much she wanted to help whichever way she could. She'd gone to the liberty of having this thing sent priority so it got here the very same day it went out. She was certainly nothing if not dedicated to her friends.

Once he was safely inside his dorm, Nick eagerly opened the mysterious box and was met with an open letter sitting atop the contents, as though it was intended for him to immediately see it when he opened it. Pulling the letter out it read:

 _Nick,_

 _I can't truly imagine how hard this all must be for you. I still wish there was something more I could do, but I know you'll be able to figure out your own way through it all. You're my clever fox, after all. I know it may not seem like much, but maybe writing out your worries will be able to at least help you get your mind off of things._

 _I believe in you, Nick, and I always will._

 _Judy_

Feeling his heart catch in his throat, Nick carefully set the letter aside and looked back into the box to find a single notepad sitting inside it; accompanied by the all-too familiar sight of Judy's personal carrot pen.


	8. Redeem

**Alright everyone, new chapter right here for you. With this chapter, there is now only one chapter left of 'I: The Road to Recovery'. It's so hard to believe this first installment in the series is already so close to being finished; but please don't be sad. There's plenty more tales of our favorite bunny and fox duo for me to share with you all, and you won't have to wait long for the second installment once this story is over. I've pretty much got the second story all planned out, so that should hopefully make starting that one much easier.**

 **So with that being said, I hope you all enjoy Chapter 8, and here's hoping the reviews, if any, for this chapter will actually show this time.**

 **Zootopia and its characters are property of Disney, not me.**

The days had gone by slowly enough as it was before **.** Now, it literally felt like one day literally blended into the next as far as Nick could tell, regardless of each nights' sleep.

Ever since his run-in with that beaver, his natural alert senses were pretty much in use 24/7. He tried so hard to stay focused on his training; but that threat he'd been given that one day all his efforts and goals would be pulled out right from under him, had Nick feeling far more than a little paranoid. He never lashed out against any of his fellow cadets, but he seemed to always be keeping one eye open for that beaver in the hopes of finding out what, if anything, he was really planning.

The past month had gone by so unbearably slowly because of this. Poor Nick was only two months into his training now, but his stress and silent fear and anxiety made it nearly feel like two years. He followed Judy's advice and always made a point to vent out his worries and frustrations with the notepad she'd mailed to him; and bless her little bunny heart, every week she sent him another package of blueberries, just knowing they'd always be able to cheer him up. But nevertheless, every day the instructors declared training for the day was over, he almost dreaded going to his dorm in the fear that beaver would somehow be in there again; just waiting for the chance to give him another slightly physical and mainly emotional thrashing.

It became harder with each passing day for him to truly remain focused, especially for the lecture portions of training. Everywhere he and the recruits went, he felt a new sensation that he was being watched with utter scorn; as if that wretched beaver was trying to make it known he was always right behind him just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. From the morning laps to every obstacle course and lecture and self-defense session, the fox always felt those eyes practically boring into his back, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

"Wilde; eyes and ears open, cadet," the sudden authoritarian tone of the instructor suddenly snapped Nick out of his reverie as he found himself slumped over at his desk in the lecture hall; all his fellow cadets making effort not to make eye contact; though his sharp hearing could pick out one or two slightly amused sniggers that he was caught zoning out like it was high school all over again.

"Yes, ma'am; sorry, ma'am," Nick hastily apologized as the instructor simply shook her head in clear disapproval.

"Lack in awareness like that could land you or your partner in very serious trouble, if not worse, Wilde. You'd do well to keep that in mind. All of you would, in fact. Now I'll ask you again: what is one of the most key aspects to being a proper ZPD officer?"

Nick nearly wanted to object to being asked something so unbelievably vague. There was no single answer to that question, so the answer literally could've been anything he could bring himself to remember from any of the previous lectures.

"In this particular case, given your lax sense of alertness; the answer is to be able to react within a fraction of a second when a situation presents itself. However, while this lesson is nothing new, there is one very important thing I believe it's time you all learned. There WILL come times at some point in your hopefully long careers in the ZPD where you will have to make very, VERY difficult decisions that you may not personally agree with as upstanding mammals.

"What I mean by this is there may come a time where a situation has degraded so badly that you will be left with no other option but to take a more…PERMANENT solution into consideration for the sake of yourselves, your partner, and the citizens you've sworn to protect. However, as officers of the law, it is your duty to uphold and protect ALL the laws; and as such, such a solution as to use lethal force must be an absolute LAST resort and not one single second sooner. I cannot stress this enough to you cadets; by all means necessary and with everything in your power, you must remember that most sacred rule of our duty: to protect the lives of all mammals, including that of the criminal, unless there is absolutely NO other alternative that doesn't put the lives of others at serious risk."

The air across the lecture hall was exceptionally heavy among Nick and all the other cadets. In the last two months, such a heavy topic about the job such as the use of lethal force had never once been brought up, and to suddenly have to hear about the possibility of them ever using it, it left quite a few of them, even among the bigger ones, feeling notably uneasy.

"With this being said, I must also tell you of another aspect of our duty that comes into play in this kind of situation. We are all mammals with emotions and fellows that we care more about than the entire world. That's just a fact of life and nature, whether it be your family, your partner or anyone else. However, when you're out on the streets enforcing the law, you must allow yourself to seal away those kind of emotions when the situation gets dire. There have been…unfortunate instances in the past where an officer let their emotions in the heat of a situation cloud their judgment, and it has resulted in very…unfortunate results; made all the more so by how avoidable they could've been.

"Now hear this and remember it well, cadets. Commit it to memory the best you all can. As much as it pains me to say this, there may likely one day come a time where your partner could get hurt…or worse, and there will be nothing you can do to prevent it. What's more, despite our sworn duty to uphold the law as fully as we can; there may unfortunately be instances where the perpetrator responsible…through some kind of loophole in the fine print that makes up Zootopia's law system, will not be able to be persecuted for their crimes. As regrettable as it is, we wouldn't be bringing this up if it never happened before. And in the case it does, you must remember your sworn duty to the city and its people. You must not allow your emotions to get in the way and drive you towards what you believe to be justice. That is nothing more than vigilantism, and despite what you may think, that is still a crime. Allowing your emotions to get the better of you will cloud your judgment, and it can once again lead to you or others getting hurt or even killed.

"I know this is very unpleasant to talk about, but every detail that goes into our job as law enforcers is of the utmost importance, and you must know it all like it's second nature if you want to prove fully capable of surviving out there," the instructor finally finished lecturing as Nick saw some of the cadets exchanging very worried glances with each other. This had instantly become the psychologically heaviest day so far in the academy, and Nick couldn't deny he was feeling a bit of a chill from everything that had been laid out for them.

He never would've honestly expected one of the sacred rules of being a ZPD officer was so similar to his old mantra: 'never let them see that they get to you.' Hiding his real emotions had already become second nature to him, but that was always for the sake of never letting other mammals get one over on him. Here, it was so that officers wouldn't go off and potentially get themselves or any number of other mammals seriously hurt in the process. And of course that ended up bringing to mind the other thing. 

Just the thought of Nick and Judy finally being official partners only for her to get hurt or, God forbid, killed without him being able to do anything about it did not sit well with Nick at all. In fact if he were to be honest, the very thought of it nearly made his stomach twist and turn. Before he even knew it, he was right back in front of that honorary wall with all the graduate photos; his gaze fixed once again on Judy at the very top. Now, his mind was a flurry of horrible thoughts of him having to watch the unthinkable happen to her; having to see that photo being mounted on her grave; having only slowly fading memories left of her all while knowing it was all his fault.

' _Oh, God, stop thinking about it right now, Wilde! Don't you dare even think of going back there! You've always had your wits about you when you were on your own; you know that. You've been able to look out for her before, and you can keep doing it still! Nothing will happen to Carrots so long as I'm around. So help me…I'll die before I ever let that happen again,'_ the resolute voice deep within Nick's head spoke loud and clearly as he found his paws instinctively clenching into fists as he made this silent solemn promise to himself. And it was then that constantly self-aware side of the fox's clever brain suddenly came back.

' _Well, listen to you, Nicky-boy. You're starting to sound like a bona fide movie star…or at least some melodramatic Casanova. You've never been this resolute about anything, especially when it involves other mammals. Looks like ol' Carrots' sense of duty is really starting to rub off on you. Took you long enough,'_ that snarky voice spoke amusedly as Nick had finally come to recognize what an immense change in attitude this was for him. As much as he'd come to treasure Judy in their time together, to actually willingly swear that he would even risk his own life to protect her was something he'd normally think was impossible for him to even do. Then again; that horrible chilling sensation of despair at the thought of losing her instantly came back, as though it were nature's way of showing him these feelings that made him so determined to protect her were in fact real.

Honestly, he still felt an immense pang of guilt every time he thought back on her injuring her leg all those months ago. What else was that little factoid supposed to tell him other than that Judy had officially planted herself deep into his heart, and he didn't even want to think of removing her from it?

Those swirling and nearly maddening thoughts continued on in the fox's head as he continued on to the gymnasium the instructor had ordered all the cadets to once the lecture session had ended. He hadn't even been paying attention to what exactly it was they were doing, but his attention was mostly caught when he saw all the cadets gathered in a circle around the mat facing inwards while the instructor was once again pacing in a circle to stare them all down.

"Alright, cadets. Today, we're going to teach you something a bit new. You've all done exceptionally well adapting to the numerous different methods you can have of defending yourselves against a violent opponent as well as restraining and detaining them; both on-on-one, and with one or two partners. However, in light of…well, recent but very relevant events, the ZPD has officially decided to incorporate a new self-defense scenario in the hopes of properly preparing you all just in case such an incident were to occur someday in the future."

While the instructor went on, Nick was momentarily at a loss what she could've possibly been referring to. They'd already covered pretty much any scenario the ZPD typically dealt with when it came to getting physical with a criminal. Nick had already come to prove himself as one of the fastest in the ring when it came to evading his opponents and knocking them out or managing to get them into position so one of the other cadets could successfully cuff them. Honestly, what else could there have been?

But then, that's when something delayed had finally clicked and made the fox suddenly realize just WHAT that polar bear was talking about, and if this was going where he thought it was…

' _Oh…no…'_ was all that sounded in Nick's head the instant the instructor stepped outside of the mat and quickly came back with a large rack stocked with… **muzzles!**

 **That evening…**

"They're incorporating how to restrain mammals that have gone savage at the academy too?" Judy asked from her end of the call as Nick rubbed his eyes to shake away some of the weariness he'd been feeling for the last few hours.

"What do you mean 'too'?" he asked with mild surprise.

"Funny enough, Chief Bogo announced any officers not on patrol duty had to report to the gym so we can officially begin training on restraining savage mammals properly too. I had paperwork today, so I was one of the…well, 'lucky' first officers," Judy explained as Nick honestly found it hard to actually accept such a bizarre coincidence actually happening to them both the same day.

"Well, I'll bet that must've been fun; having to learn how to properly muzzle a polar bear that's literally trying to rip you apart. I'll bet the volunteers had a real blast," Nick said with some really bitter-sounding sarcasm, and Judy didn't even have to guess as to why.

"None of us wanted to have to do this, Nick; and I'm sure…well, MOST of your fellow cadets and the instructors didn't want to, either. But unfortunately, the Night Howler case IS still resonating very strongly in the memories of the people, and City Hall and the ZPD both felt it would be best we're more properly prepared in the event anything like this happens again; God forbid," Judy tried to reason with him, but she could easily tell Nick didn't want to hear it. It was bad enough muzzles were now officially being brought into the ZPD's repertoire, but especially knowing just who one of his fellow cadets was and why Nick despised muzzles as much as he did, that could've only made this little surprise a thousand times more painful for him.

"Nick, I know this had to be really hard for you, but…would you at least be willing to tell me…well, how it went?" Judy asked imploringly as Nick let out a weary sigh. He was still very sore about the whole thing and that never left him in the mood for sharing; but he couldn't honestly say 'no' to her. He knew she would only ask this for ultimately his own benefit so he could get his emotions off his chest. That little bunny was certainly best for that purpose if nothing else when not here in person.

"Well, if I'd gotten the option to back out, it would've gone a lot better, I can tell you that. But the instructor said we ALL had to have at least one go of it today," Nick began, dreading with each word the real core of his present dreary mood while Judy simply sat in silence and listened.

"When it eventually came to be my turn…I even had someone partnered with me, but…but—" he continued; his heart rate accelerating as he regretfully accepted there was no backing out of telling her what she needed to hear now.

"I froze up. They had me carry that thing in my paws, and my partner had the volunteer restrained somehow, and when he and everyone else were counting on me to step in and get it on, I froze! It's like I wasn't even there. Looking at that thing, all I saw was myself back at that stupid Rangers meet with a muzzle on my face!"

All went silent as Nick tried to take several deep breaths to compose himself while Judy watched him with deeply sympathetic eyes.

"All these years…all these years with that memory only dwelling in the back of my mind…I was able to put it all aside after what happened with us, but…then all THIS had to happen, and now it's all I can think about," Nick lamented as he buried his face into one of his paws; his shoulders heaving with his heavy breaths while Judy was clearly struggling to think what she could possibly say to make him feel even a little better.

"Nick…Nick, I understand. There's no way anyone could be able to ask you to do such a thing; especially if they knew what you went through. I'm still grateful you told me about it, because you never should have had to keep all that pain to yourself. I'm sure if you told the instructor, perhaps they would be able to make an exception for you—" Judy began to propose, only for Nick to let out a groan of aggravation, effectively shutting her up as he tried to keep his emotions in check despite how angry he was feeling towards himself.

"You just don't get it, Carrots! This isn't about me not being able to do it! It's because everything we're taught here is for the survival of ourselves and our partners! This was testing us out in a life-or-death scenario, and I FROZE! For all intents and purposes, I essentially got someone killed for it! What if this had happened out there on the streets? What if something were to happen to you all because I froze up?!"

Nick was panting for breath; nothing but emotional anguish and despair evident in his eyes as Judy's ears fell to see him in such a truly vulnerable state.

"Earlier…the instructor told us something. She told us about how a true cop always needs to be ready to react within a fraction of a second; because it could mean the difference between life and death for us and our partners…a-and she even talked about how it's almost inevitable that something may happen to our partners, and we'll be unable to do anything to stop it. I…God, it just got me thinking about…well, us being partners," Nick admitted, and for a second Judy almost looked scared, mainly from thinking he was about to suggest they not work together.

"Carrots, even to this day I still feel terrible for letting you hurt your leg back then. If you were to get killed because of me…because I couldn't think to act or do anything…I-I would NEVER be able to forgive myself," Nick finally confessed as he bowed his head in utter shame while Judy already felt herself beginning to cry. Somehow, that seemingly collected fox always found a means to make her so emotional towards him every time he opened up like this. Perhaps it was simply because it was a sign of his growing trust for her that he could allow her to see him like this.

"Nick," Judy spoke so softly to him as he reluctantly lifted his gaze to meet hers, only to see her extending her free paw to her screen as though she were trying her best to reach out to comfort him, but this was the best she could hope to do.

"Please don't blame yourself for what's happened so far. We all try to think we can do everything, prevent anything, but…but in spite of the expectations we set for ourselves, we still make mistakes. Look at me; you and I both know I'm far from perfect. At first I tried the best I could to be, but ever since we met, I've woken up. I like to think we both have, don't you?" she asked soothingly as Nick managed to form the faintest smirk as he nodded in agreement.

"There's always going to be things we do or say that we regret, and when things go wrong, we'll always have that one part of us that still makes us blame ourselves for things that go wrong. I know I certainly do in spite of everything that's happened. But please, don't let your fear of something that hasn't happened yet drag you down like this. We're in this together, remember? Always have and always will be. It's sweet of you to be watching out for me, but allow me to watch out for you too, okay? As long as we work together and look out for each other, I know nothing will be able to touch us. Just…I just want to know that you know that too," she finally finished; completely ignoring the emotional tears running down her face while she could see her words were heavily resonating with Nick too as he was visibly trying to keep himself from breaking down emotionally as well.

How was it this simple yet wonderful country bunny always knew what to say to effectively make all his fears, doubts and anger towards himself disappear almost instantly? Did they just click that well together that she practically knew exactly what to say to him every time? It would certainly explain how he was able to always bring her back around on the few times where he got to be her emotional savior.

"I do know that, Carrots…and thank you. I don't know where I'd be right now if we couldn't do this each night," Nick admitted as Judy could barely manage to giggle in response while clearing her eyes.

"Wow, I was the one who was in pain and you still manage to be the one crying in the end. You bunnies really ARE so emotional," the fox teased as Judy's grateful smile once again nearly made his fur bristle at the sight. Somehow, whenever she was in these heavily emotional states, those smiles of gratitude on her muzzle somehow made her transcend from cute all the way to legitimately beautiful as far as he was concerned. Of course, that was the only thought that made any sense to him whenever he thought back on having these reactions whenever she looked at him that way.

Of course, he also couldn't deny that overall there was something seemingly different about the overall atmosphere Judy seemed to exude whenever he looked at her during this time. It was like the smiles and looks of sympathy and comfort she gave him came from somewhere unfamiliar; somewhere that somewhat transcended beyond their friendship, but he honestly couldn't hope to put an answer to what it really could be. Either way, it always made his fur stand on end in the most…pleasant way possible.

"What can I say? You seem to bring it out of me more than anyone else, needy fox," Judy teased right back at him as the two immediately shared another encouraging mutual laugh together. Neither of them had to even say it anymore. Being so in sync with each other during relieving moments like this made everything seem just right in both their worlds. Neither could muster up the courage to say so in this moment, but after the immensely heavy moment they'd both just gone through tonight, they could both nearly physically feel that connection they had somehow become even more unbreakable than it already was.

 **The next evening…**

Judy's words of reassurance, trust and faith had stuck true to Nick the entire way through training today. It was like an inextinguishable fire had been lit inside him that drove him harder than any past day he'd been here. It was like he was determined to prove his worth and capabilities to himself more than anyone else. Even his fellow cadets and the instructor were visibly impressed with how hard he was suddenly pushing himself. He'd managed to get the lead by a good amount on all his fellow cadets in all the laps they had to run, and for the first time ever since he'd first come here, he was not only managing to survive all the obstacle courses, but also coming in first in each one.

And this time around, when it came time for muzzle training…well, at least he didn't freeze up this time around. Sure, he still wasn't able to get it on the volunteer for savage mammal, but it was at least a start.

Nick couldn't help but feel like the weight of the world was off his shoulders and he was now light as a feather as he relished in the well-earned evening meal today. He never thought he could be able to push himself so far; at least not without Judy being there to cheer him on every single step of the way. But at the same time, he could still somehow feel as though she was there right beside him in his heart, and in the end, that was just as good.

As he continued to eat, his ears soon picked up what sounded like two exceptionally angry voices approaching from down the hall leading to the dining room. It sounded like two mammals arguing, and one he soon came to recognize was that of his instructor. All the other cadets scattered across the room were able to keep their own conversations with each other to a minimum; making it thankfully that much easier for Nick to focus in once the polar bear entered alongside a caribou dressed in a similar staff uniform.

Despite how heated their conversation amongst themselves seemed to be from body language alone, the two somehow managed to keep from drawing attention to themselves as their conversation somehow managed to maintain at a whisper level. Thank nature for Nick's ultra-sharp hearing…and curse his natural curiosity.

"It doesn't make any sense. I've been working here even longer than you have, and not ONCE have I ever misplaced my keys. I always keep them on me, and I lock up the storage rooms the exact same hour every single day like clockwork. There's no way I could've missed one," the caribou sounded to be explaining in his own defense.

"Well, no matter how many times you say that, it doesn't change the fact that somebody SOMEHOW got into one and stole several of our supplies for the cadets from it. Several missing bottles of water is one thing; but a missing muzzle and a missing pair of our sparring gloves? There's no telling why someone would want to steal those, and that's what has me worried. We NEED to investigate this as best we can before we bring it up to anyone else."

Now Nick's curiosity had been replaced with a sense of anxiety similar to the instructors. Stealing ZPA property had to be a VERY serious charge. It had to be, since you'd essentially be stealing from the police. But what reason could anyone have to do something they must know would be so stupid?

Needless to say, this sudden mystery had replaced any semblance of an appetite Nick had as he rose from his seat and began to make his way down the halls for his dorm. His mind was entirely focused at this point on trying to figure out why this had suddenly happened today of all days.

However, as he continued to walk, his sense of awareness suddenly kicked in to make him realize something: that lingering sensation he'd been feeling nonstop for the past month; the one that always reminded him he was being watched by you-know-who…the sensation was gone.

Hesitantly looking back over his shoulder; Nick was surprised to find that indeed, his silent beaver tormentor was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't even feel his presence anymore. Nick wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but instead this only made him even more nervous. He did NOT like not knowing where that little monster was at all times. He could literally be anywhere now, and plotting anything to boot.

Cautiously retiring to his dorm, Nick could feel his paranoid instincts kicking into overdrive as he carefully checked every nook and cranny of the room for any sign the beaver had been here recently. Thankfully, everything looked to be where he'd left it; so with the heaviest sigh, the fox took to his nightly ritual of writing down his latest entry into his notepad in order to clear his head.

The minutes passed by as Nick began writing down the details he knew of this sudden theft from the storage rooms while also writing down his thoughts. By the time he'd finally run out of words to write down; looking over all the details, something seemed to silently click in the fox's head.

The beaver's warning last month. He'd made it all too clear things weren't finished between them, and the fact Nick could feel his gaze every day was testament to that. It was impossible for that little bucktoothed rodent to just cast aside the tension he himself had built between them. He'd made it clear he was going to take all of Nick's efforts out from under him. Just thinking about it, this all suddenly seemed to fit into place.

In that fraction of an instant of dreadful realization, the fox didn't even notice the sound of his door being unlocked from the outside and slowly being opened.

And by the time his ears had picked up the almost unnoticeable sound of the floorboards creaking underneath the weight of another mammals' footstep behind him, it was already too late.

Before Nick could react to get the jump on his unexpected visitor; his vision was quickly obstructed as something was slung over his face and pulling back with such force as to tip him back over in his chair and toppling hard to the floor.

Nick suddenly felt an immense weight being forced onto his back to keep him from fighting out of it as he suddenly felt a belt tightly squeeze around the back of his head; accompanied by cold steel tightening around his snout so he couldn't hope to even cry out for help, let alone bite. And of course, that was when the nearly paralyzing recognition set in as his heart began to race with utter panic and he found himself struggling to act.

He was right back in that scarring situation of being forcibly held down and muzzled against his will with no one to help him.

"I was hoping you'd get the message the first time and realize how much of your time you're wasting. I thought you'd actually be smart and recognize you're not welcome here and just pack it in," that hateful voice of that wretched beaver said in an angry hiss into Nick's ear as the fox suddenly felt the cold steel of a pair of handcuffs being clasped around his left paw.

For a second he felt the adrenaline kick in to try and fight back, but that beaver was certainly much tougher than he looked. He quickly grappled onto Nick enough to practically flip the fox onto his back before quickly pinning him down again; wasting no time to yank the handcuffs around one of the corner posts of Nick's bed before clasping the other cuff around his free paw; effectively restraining him.

Nick was breaking out into a frigid, terrified and panicked sweat as he immediately recognized what a helpless situation he was in. That beaver had him right in the perfect place where he couldn't hope to fight back; and now that he'd been muzzled, he couldn't even bring himself to think straight long enough to even try talking; at least as much that horrid muzzle would allow him to.

What made it even more unbearable was the fact that not only had this beaver bested him in close-quarters faster than the fox could even react; but the smug grin of victory on his face nearly brought Nick's blood to a boil to just look at him.

"I guess I should blame myself for actually thinking a stupid fox like you would actually be able to get the clue. No, you just had to keep fighting back just by being here every day. What, did you really think if you worked hard enough, everyone else would just accept you as one of them? That is NOT gonna happen, not so long as I'm here. I tried to let you take the easy way out, but now it's time for you to go," the medium aquatic mammal spoke with sheer disdain as he slowly got back onto his feet before heading for the door to the hallway; cautiously looking down both ends of the hall before quickly pulling in a heavy-looking box; dragging it across the floor before hastily tucking it into a corner of the closet.

Once he was sure it was nice and hidden from average view, the beaver turned back to see the look of both realization and surprise reflected in Nick's gaze.

"Yeah, that's right. I don't know if you'd heard, but some of the staff were talking earlier about one of the storage rooms being broken into and several things being stolen. I know as future ZPD officers, we're supposed to enforce and obey all the laws; but when you need to do something for the greater good, I feel that's when it's time to bend the rules, wouldn't you agree? Not that a predator like you ever played by any rules but your own anyway, I'm sure.

"It's time you finally got put right where you and the rest of your kind ultimately belong, Wilde. And don't even think of trying to talk your way out of what's coming. You really think anyone is gonna really question the idea of a FOX being the one who would steal, even from the ZPD? Heck, the handcuffs and the muzzle? As far as they'll be concerned, you were planning to attack one of the other cadets with it, and I dropped in on you with the stuff and defended myself. Nobody's gonna even think twice about that."

Nick felt a despair and anger the likes of which he'd never truly felt before. Right now all he wanted was to get out of these cuffs and force this muzzle onto that beaver's smug face and squeeze it as tight over his big mouth as he possibly could; some long-deserved payback for the Junior Ranger Scouts. But despite what a frenzy of immense emotion the fox was going through as he futilely tried to struggle out of his cuffs, the remaining rationality in his head couldn't deny that for once, he was truly the one who lost. That beaver had all the cards on his side. Just the fact Nick had to be a fox was already enough to put everything in the smaller mammal's favor. And that victorious grin on his face showed that he knew it too.

"You want to get back at me, don't you? Not just for right now, either. I'll bet you've wanted to pay me back for a long time. You know what? Go ahead and get angry. I won't stop you. We both know it'll just make my story that much more convincing.

"As much as I can't stand even thinking of you being under this roof for a second more…well, I can't honestly say I dislike the idea of letting you stay here for a few more minutes with that muzzle on. Give you some time to lament how this is all gonna end. So, you just stay put and don't try to do anything clever, Nicky-boy. I'll be right back," the beaver taunted as he finally got off of Nick's midsection and backed away out of his dorm before quietly closing the door shut; effectively leaving Nick all alone muzzled and cuffed to his bed without any hopes of being able to escape.

His mind was in an absolute frenzy as that natural instinct for freedom and escape from harm quickly took over his rationale. The cuffs were too tight for him to simply slip his paws through; even if he were desperate enough to try and break his own wrists in order to do it. And the nearly suffocating clasp of that muzzle over his snout was starting to bring him back into a panic; his heart pounding at his chest as he started to hyperventilate; struggling to breathe as his whole body began to twist and writhe in desperation; an almost fierce growl of anger, desperation and fear emanating from deep within as his body thrashed about; finally crashing into the side of his desk, making it rock back from the unexpected force before something ended up tipping over its edge and landing on the fox's chest before sliding down to the floor beside him: his cellphone.

All at once, Nick's focus returned as he realized what a lucky break this was for him. All he had to do was get a hold of it, contact Judy and no doubt she'd know how to contact the academy to send for help. If fate were to be on his side, if he could somehow get her to get in contact with the academy superiors before that beaver did, it could put that little monsters' plan completely off the rails and help Nick get the advantage again.

Of course, having his paws cuffed over his head was going to make this a little trickier than he'd hoped.

Wasting no time, Nick proceeded to start rocking his body from side to side; shifting his weight so that he was soon on his right side with his back to his phone. Trying his best to calculate his movements, the fox tried his best to move his tail up enough to where he could somehow use it to nudge the phone closer to his paws. He even proceeded to curl his body up into a ball just to get his tail that much closer.

Just when it seemed like he'd gotten his hopes up for nothing, he soon felt the smooth casing of the phone against his tail; and keeping his mind on the task at hand, he proceeded to use all his effort to make it push the phone upwards. The whole effort seemed to pass at an unbearably slow pace, feeling like he was only moving the phone centimeter by centimeter.

However, he soon could just barely feel the texture against the back of his paw and quickly straightened his body back out as he carefully maneuvered his paw with the restraint of the cuffs so that he could manage to get a good grip on the corner of it; silently hoping it wouldn't somehow slip out of his grasp to a spot he couldn't manage to grab it. Every second on the clock was more precious than it had ever been in his life; and despite the overwhelming fears racing through his head, Nick wasn't going to allow his emotions to slow him down.

Carefully shifting the phone into both his paws, Nick quickly got to his contacts list and barely managed to reach the spot where Judy's name showed, all while struggling to keep it positioned where she'd be able to see him. Honestly, if he knew her well at all, she wouldn't even think to waste time by asking what happened once she'd see him like this and immediately leap into action.

' _Please, Carrots…just this once…please don't try to talk to me…just do this for me just this once,'_ Nick thought desperately as he watched the spinning reticle dancing almost tauntingly on his screen as he kept waiting for her to answer. He just had to hope she was home like always and that the powers that be hadn't chosen this night of all nights to keep her away at the ZPD.

And just when it seemed like fate was taunting him by giving him nothing but silence, that electric *ping* nearly seemed to resonate through the room as he was suddenly greeted by the smiling face of Judy herself. And faster than Nick thought was even possible for the little grey bunny, her smile and the happy gleam in her eyes INSTANTLY turned into nothing less than wide-eyed horror once she saw the muzzle clasped tightly onto his face and the small bit of the handcuffs around his wrists.

"Nick! Oh my God, what happened?! No, wait; don't talk! I'm gonna get help, okay? I promise, it'll be okay," Judy was pretty much having to actively fight to keep from asking Nick if he was alright and asking who did this to him; both answers almost painfully obvious, and the last thing she was going to allow was for her fox to stay like this for even a second longer than he had to. But nevertheless, despite how much she wanted to stay here so he wouldn't be alone while rescue came; she could still see the silent look of gratitude reflected in Nick's eyes, giving her all the reassurance she needed of his understanding. Biting her lower lip to fight the urge to even say one more word; she reluctantly hit the button to disconnect the call and immediately started dialing the academy's number.

All the while; letting the phone drop from his paws, Nick let out a heavy, defeated sigh as he lay here all alone with only the light from his tableside lamp to help him see. All he could do now was hope for a miracle; hope that she would somehow get in contact with the higher-ups before that flat-tailed creep did and they'd get him out of this accursed muzzle that much sooner.

The minutes seemed to drag as he had nothing but the wall-mounted clock and his regrets to keep him company now as he kept trying to listen for the sound of paw-steps to let him know help was finally on its way. But alas, it was like his desperate mind was choosing now to play tricks on him now that he was virtually on his very last rope.

' _Some future cop you turned out to be, huh, Wilde? Can't even defend yourself against one beaver. Guess those wins in the ring were nothing but a fluke,'_ that self-deprecating voice wasted no time making its presence known as Nick could only feel shame in himself that he let himself get beaten so easily. Even if that beaver did have the element of surprise, Nick was still way bigger than him. If he'd been able to take down a lion, there's no acceptable reason he couldn't have been able to do the same here.

' _Maybe I really was just fooling myself in the long run. Even if Carrots does get them to let me out of here, all the stuff that overgrown weasel stole is right there in my closet. I'll be lucky if they even let me get a single word in my defense once they see that. He's right, they'll never believe anything a fox says. Nobody would,'_ came to mind as Nick bowed his muzzled head in defeat; staring at the floor forlorn as he could practically feel himself reverting back to that miserable 8 or 9 year-old fox crying all alone outside the Ranger Scouts meet.

' _But…Carrots would. She wouldn't still be there if she never believed anything I told her. She's one of the only mammals I've ever been completely honest with…well, at least most of the time. If she never believed me, she wouldn't be getting help for me right now. Yeah…yeah, there is still her ultimately,'_ that one hopeful little spark reassured him as he worked to get his spirits back up even remotely.

' _Oh yeah, everything is perfect now that Carrots is once again on the case. You can't even manage to help yourself anymore. That little cottontail has to save your hide all the time now, doesn't she? You couldn't even manage a way out of a pair of handcuffs. Face it, Wilde; you're just an overgrown little kit having to go running home to his bunny for help,'_ a new and even more fiercely demeaning voice suddenly began to mock Nick as he felt his insides pretty much twist in both shame and embarrassment at how undeniably true it was. Sure, maybe it was a reaction from his natural male instincts, but he was still so used to being able to take care of himself; and now here he was trapped and helpless with no one but his little bunny friend to save him.

' _That doesn't matter…it doesn't matter if I can't get myself out of here. That's why I have her. I thought I could do everything on my own, but I can't…not anymore. It's like ol' Fluff said, right? We're partners, and partners look out for each other. And if I don't get out of this somehow…she'll have no one to watch her back too! I don't care if I have to have her help me out of this! I'm not letting it end like this! You'll see, Carrots!'_

Just as that raging fire of determination practically exploded in Nick; his ears suddenly picked up the unmistakable sound of paw-steps approaching his door, and much to his incommunicable relief, the door opened to reveal the polar bear instructor nearly filling his doorframe before immediately rushing over the instant she saw one of her pupils handcuffed and muzzled.

 **Shortly afterward…**

It took a good few minutes for Nick to finally collect himself and really calm down once the instructor had finally taken the handcuffs off him and gotten that wretched muzzle off his snout. While he didn't explicitly say so, he was silently hoping this experience wasn't going to revert him back to freezing up once it was back to muzzle training. He really didn't want to feel like he'd taken one step forward and then a giant leap backwards. Nevertheless, even if he could do it, it was still going to be a miracle if he'd ever be able to see one of those awful things and not instinctively shudder.

"I realize how painful this must be, Wilde; but I need you to tell me everything that happened, who did this to you, and why; at least as best as you can. An assault on a ZPA cadet within its own halls is a VERY serious matter, and with you as the victim, your account is the most important until we can actually have a suspect," the polar bear instructor tried to inform Nick as patiently yet professionally as she could as the two sat alone in her personal office while Nick was already feeling all too eager to finally get everything off his chest, get the one responsible what they deserved and be able to at least start putting this long, dark period of his life behind him.

"You won't even have to look. I already know who did it. It's that beaver cadet. He's had it in for me ever since we first got here," Nick didn't hesitate to admit; something which he immediately regretted when he saw the look of deep thought on the instructors face. For all he knew, he'd been too fast to just say it, and that could've made it look like he had it prepared as a scapegoat. The unbearable silence afterwards certainly didn't help.

"So you're saying Bucky Beaverkowicz is the one who muzzled and cuffed you? You seemed pretty fast to name him the culprit, Wilde. I'm not trying to shift suspicion, but again, I need ALL the details I can get before we follow through on this. This is a very sensitive issue, I hope you understand. Our taking police action against our very first beaver recruit could reflect very poorly on the ZPA to the public if we don't have an airtight case available. So please, I can assure you everything shared here is in complete confidence, so feel free to share everything."

Nick couldn't deny that what she was saying made sense. But if giving all the details; finally putting an end to the prejudice was what it took to finally be rid of that little rodent, then so be it.

Nick proceeded to give the polar bear pretty much his life story; everything from his life-damaging encounter with Bucky Beaverkowicz in the Junior Ranger Scouts, to everything that had occurred between them since their arrival at the academy. He didn't even hesitate to share everything Bucky had said to mock him after he'd cuffed the fox. Once all had been said and done, he felt like an unbearable weight was FINALLY off his chest after 20 or 21 years. The instructor looked to be fairly impressed with all the information she now had, while undeniably angry at what had been going on in her academy while her and everyone else's backs were turned. Thank God Nick had managed to get Judy Hopps to contact her when he did; otherwise he could've been stuck like that with the panic-inducing trauma of a muzzle the entire night. The possibilities of the psychological and emotional damage in such a case were virtually endless, but for all she could figure, they'd managed to nip that in the bud just in time.

"Alright, Wilde; I want you to know that I believe you. After everything you've just told me, how could an honest cop possibly not? It's regrettable we didn't learn about this sooner, and as much as I hate to say it like this, we should be grateful things at least played out this way so it could finally be brought to our attention. Unfortunately, it just isn't that simple. Your testimony is rock-solid, but we need just one solid piece of physical evidence to prove Beaverkowicz is guilty for the thefts and attempting to frame you. The prejudice towards foxes is still quite strong among a good amount of the public in spite of what you and Officer Hopps accomplished, so without evidence, the court only has your word to go on, since like you said, any testimony from Beaverkowicz will paint you to look like the culprit, and the people will be much more inclined to believe him."

Nick gritted his fangs in bitterness at the truth of her words. Even if he got on his knees and appealed to the public's better nature, it didn't change the fact that virtually nobody trusted foxes on principle. However, in spite of that lingering disgust he still felt towards the world at large for hammering that fact into his head practically from birth, he didn't let it show. Instead, he could only smile in self-assured victory as he stood tall and proud and resolute to his instructor.

"You won't have to worry about that, ma'am. If there's one thing I've learned at this point, it's that a good cop is ALWAYS prepared. There should be a pen shaped like a carrot on the desk in my dorm. If you can get that, you'll have the evidence you need," the fox explained with full confidence as the instructor wasted no time rising from her desk and making a beeline for the dorm. Nick had to fight the urge to almost want to cheer that his month-long habit spawned from his paranoia had actually managed to pay off.

Every night since his first real encounter with Bucky, Nick had been so afraid of what might've been waiting for him every night that when he took to writing in his notepad per Judy's advice, he made a habit of turning the recorder on that pen on when he started, and if nothing happened, erasing the recording in the morning. After a while he'd started to wonder if it was just him getting his own hopes up; but lo and behold, here he was now literally one carrot pen away from finally getting the jump on his oldest tormentor.

Within a few minutes, the instructor returned with that precious little carrot pen held between her claws as she handed it to Nick; the fox smiling brightly as he waited for her to sit down, since she was practically gonna jump once she saw this.

With a single press of the rewind button followed by play, the sound of Bucky's voice sounded out from inside the pen as Nick couldn't help but stand tall triumphantly. It felt so…nostalgic to be holding this thing in his paws again; once again proving for the second time in his life to be the key to winning against the real bad mammals.

It wasn't even an hour before the polar bear had called in the academy's security to apprehend Bucky in his dorm. Honestly, Nick had expected him to have reached the instructor a long time ago; perhaps even before he'd managed to get a hold of Judy, if his eagerness to get rid of the fox was to be believed. But in the end, Nick figured the nasty little beaver had let his sadistic tendencies get the better of him and decided to take his sweet time in the hopes of letting Nick suffer with the muzzle for that much longer. Well, now the fox could be satisfied to know that beaver was gonna be regretting it for a very long time indeed.

The look of sheer dumbfounded shock on Bucky's face as he was being led out of his dorm in handcuffs was nothing short of priceless as Nick made no effort to keep himself hidden. He WANTED the beaver to know he'd been bested when he felt he had all the advantages, and he wanted to relish in that look of defeat.

' _Yeah, feels nice to know you got beaten by a stupid fox, doesn't it?'_ Nick thought with such intensity, as if he was trying to implant those very same words into Bucky's head as they passed; the moment of their eye contact seeming to convey everything to the beaver as he instantaneously realized how this was happening, but the security wasted no time getting him down the hall for the waiting squad car out front before the beaver could even start to protest and start his seemingly fool-proof last resort of framing Nick. Thankfully, he was out of sight before he could get a word out. All the while, Nick let out the heaviest yet most satisfied and overall relieved sigh he ever had.

It was such a strange feeling he was experiencing right now. He'd lived with the painful memories of what Bucky and his friends had done to him for the majority of his life. He'd kept it all bottled in for so long that it nearly become invisible to him, all until he'd realized how similar he and Judy were in the eyes of society and where they stood. It had forced him to go back to that time, to realize just how similar the two of them were and how they'd both managed to cope with it. She was the very first mammal he'd ever shared that memory with, and it forced him to accept that in that moment, there was a real part of him that had come to trust her. And ever since then; ever since they'd reconciled, he found himself being more comfortable with opening up to her and letting her know who he really was little bit by little bit. If it hadn't been for her, he never would've found the desire to better himself and try to help others that had once driven him so long ago.

But in this instant, something had finally occurred to him: he couldn't hope to help others if he wasn't able to help himself first. And once again, as if the stars had somehow been aligned just right, fate had put this unexpected trial in his way, and he'd finally found the courage and the determination to be more than what everyone believed him to be, and to finally put the beginning of his life's descent in the past where it belonged. In this instant, watching the source of all his self-loathing and bitterness be taken away for him never to see again, and to know that he'd officially conquered his demons; Nick Wilde knew that his life could finally begin anew.

This was the true beginning of his new life, and now, he wasn't going to allow anything else to stop him from being the very best he could be. He wanted to show the world what he was truly capable of being for a fox. He wanted to prove it to himself that he was more than he'd been led to believe by so many others. And he wanted to show it to Judy, just what an immense and wonderful change to his life she'd inadvertently proven to be.

 **And that's Chapter 8, everyone. I had the climax for this chapter between Nick and Bucky much more padded out, but the more I wrote, the more I realized it would've ultimately defeated the purpose I had for this story. Having the two come to blows would've only landed in Bucky's favor; and having them exchange final words of Nick's absolute victory just seemed kind of…unsatisfying. This was someone that had essentially ruined Nick's life for the longest time, and I feel just the silent realization that the one he felt he had all the power over had bested him was satisfying in its own way.**

 **Anyway, there's only one chapter left of 'I: The Road to Recovery.' It feels like it was only yesterday that I'd actually started this story. But like I said before, there's plenty more tales to tell of our bunny and fox heroes to come. I want to thank you all for your continuous and overwhelming support every step of the way, and I hope to keep you all entertained and invested for a very long time to come. You can all expect the last chapter to come a week from today like always.**


	9. Restart

**Well, here we are everyone: the last chapter of the first installment of my Zootopia series, the end of The Road to Recovery. It's weird; it literally feels like it was just yesterday I started to bring this story to you all. And every step of the way, the response has been astronomical as far as my experiences are concerned. I want to sincerely thank you all for all your supportive reviews and loyal following of this story and myself so you can continue to follow me into the future of this series. Your silent and written support has made this road so much more pleasant to go down, and I hope to keep you all enthralled, entertained and invested in the future of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde I have in store for you all.**

 **So without further ado, let us continue down the final stretch of this road before we step out into the next leg of our journey. Don't be afraid to follow me afterwards. You all deserve to see where this will all go just as much as everyone else.**

 **Zootopia and its characters belong to Disney, not me.**

"I'm telling you, Carrots, it was a real thing of beauty. I wish I had a camera to save the moment. I'd say it was downright 'frame on the living room wall' worthy," Nick recollected happily with Judy as he lay splayed out on his bed with the most satisfied if not ecstatic grin on his face.

Since Bucky Beaverkowicz had been taken away and Nick had been given leave to retire to his dorm, he'd wasted no time contacting Judy to let her know how everything went. When she'd answered, it was no secret nor surprise that seeing the fox the way she'd seen him last had left her in tears for a good long time. That's what made seeing the light practically explode back into her eyes when she saw him again (this time without a muzzle or a gaze of despair) make this moment so much more dear for him.

Yes it felt indescribable to know he'd finally beaten the mammal most responsible for ruining his life, but he wasn't about to forget that if it hadn't been for Judy being so dependable to reach, he'd probably still be cuffed to his bed with a muzzle on his snout, slowly going insane from the panic. But thankfully that wasn't the case anymore, and he knew he really owed it to the bunny staring at him gleefully through his phone right now.

"I'm so happy for you, Nick. I just wish I could've been there," Judy said happily as Nick instinctively chuckled at how bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, figuratively speaking at least, she was right now. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if she perhaps knew her enthusiasm had come to be so contagious towards him by this point, hence why she always looked as joyous as a kit on their birthday whenever they talked.

"I know; that's why I wish I could've taken a picture. I know at least I'LL never forget that look on his face, but I just wish there was a way I could show it to you, too," Nick lamented sarcastically as Judy's gaze drifted downward, as though she were struggling to think of what to say next.

"No, I mean…I wish I could've been there to actually help you. If I was there, maybe I could've been able to prevent all this happening to you in the first place. I never meant for this to happen, and—"Judy began to explain; her words hanging heavy with regret. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't shake that image of a muzzled Nick out of her head. Out of all the things she'd gone through, the pain she'd suffered through to press onward, seeing her best friend looking that helpless and afraid was without a doubt one of the worst things she'd ever experienced.

It shattered the poor bunny's heart so badly to see him so vulnerable and scared, to the point it felt almost as though his physical and emotional pain was her very own. And now being in such a more positive place forced her to finally realize what a truly close call this had been; and now all those emotions, both new and long-withheld, towards Nick were catching up with her all at once. She'd never felt as terribly for him as she did in that moment, and at the same time she'd never felt so happy to be sharing a moment with him as she was right now. Even the most experienced psychologists would've most likely been unable to pin down just what was going through Judy's head at this time.

"Carrots don't even start thinking about beating yourself up. There's no reason to, understand? I know you bunnies get so emotional so easily, but please don't start crying now. We won again, and it's because of what you said: partners look out for each other. We won because I knew you were there; and I hope you realize I fully intend to return the favor someday, whether you like it or not," Nick attempted to reassure her while still expressing his gratitude for her support the only way he could. Judy's violet eyes seemed to practically light up to hear his comforting words as she and Nick both unknowingly glanced away from each other, as if they were both mutually nervous about making eye contact now that these heavier sentiments were being shared.

"I don't doubt it for a second, brave fox. I feel safer already," Judy humored him as he gave her an appreciative smile that left her silently feeling warm in the cheeks again.

"In all seriousness though, Carrots: thank you for being here through all this. It's…it has been hard, and…well, I really don't know what I would've done tonight if it weren't for you," Nick then said with some undeniable doubt evident in his words as his own gaze sank while Judy felt a breath catch in her throat, not even wanting to think of that horrible possibility; although she couldn't begin to imagine what must've been going through his head at that time either.

"Please, don't bring yourself down thinking about that, Nick. We all need help from others sometimes; that's just a fact. You only just said so: we're partners, and partners always have each other's backs," Judy tried to reassure him as Nick still couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes again.

"That's not it, Carrots. I meant…if I'd tried desperately enough, I might've been able to get out…but I'm not sure if I would've been able to control myself afterwards," Nick finally admitted as Judy fell deathly silent while Nick looked to be struggling with what to say next.

"You must've seen it in my eyes earlier, right? How scared I was? Well, that was nothing compared to what was going on inside me, alright? I couldn't think straight. I was barely even able to think to try and contact you for help. I was panicking, and I was angry; for everything he'd done to me tonight and before. Halfway through, I could only see red, and all I could think about was getting out, finding him and…a-and—"Nick continued on as he could feel that horrible fire still smoldering in the pit of his stomach. He'd never felt this way before, and it was a very scary feeling. It wasn't like any kind of regular anger. The closest thing he could even think to compare it to was like some kind of violent PTSD where someone would snap and try to hurt another mammal either indiscriminately, or one specifically connected to them.

Outside of what semblance of rational thoughts he could've hoped to have in that moment, the longer he'd been stuck wearing that muzzle, the more he felt his blood boiling, and all his fear giving way to an almost…SAVAGE anger that drove nearly every fiber of his being to escaping, finding Bucky and putting a permanent end to him…only the way a PREDATOR could. And the thought of that kind of animalistic primal urge festering inside him terrified Nick like nothing else ever had before.

"Nick, please…please stop—" Judy pleaded in a nearly mute whisper as Nick was struggling to take deep breaths to compose himself; especially when he saw the deeply emotional depth in Judy's eyes the more she looked at how scared he was at this moment of himself.

"I'd never felt that way before, Carrots. Not ever. Yes, I wanted to make him pay…but not like THAT. Even now, all I can think of is what I would've done and what would've happened to me then…if it hadn't been for you," Nick finally admitted as the dorm was now left in a heavy silence as neither of them knew what to possibly say to each other now.

Typical, what had to start as a fantastic evening had to be ruined once again by Nick's seemingly endless fears and doubts about himself. Guess Bucky's handiwork had penetrated more deeply than even Nick thought it did.

"Nick, please look at me," Judy said firmly as Nick steeled himself as he looked into her penetrating gaze again; being met with a look of silent compassion and understanding, almost like what one would expect to receive from their own mother.

"Nick, I can't imagine how scary all of this must've been. But, if you had felt this strongly…then why DIDN'T you just try to break free and go after him?" she asked softly; picking her words very carefully, knowing just how easy it was for Nick to jump to conclusions when in vulnerable spots like this.

For several seconds, that unbearable silence was all she was met with as Nick looked to be struggling to figure out that answer for himself. But when that look of realization shimmered in his eyes, it was almost as if the fox had been completely enlightened as his ears slowly raised back up.

"Because I didn't want to prove him right. I didn't want to prove any of them right; not him or Smellwether either. This all started because he'd told me no one would ever trust me for being a fox. I allowed myself to prove him right with that already. When he cuffed me tonight, he said that me and any other predators didn't belong; that we all deserved to be locked away. And he even said if I tried anything, all it would've done was prove him right. And then not to mention what you told me Smellwether said to you back when you visited her in jail.

"Carrots, you helped me to remember the kind of mammal I really was, even after all the years I'd convinced myself otherwise. I've stuck to it up to this point because I not only wanted to…well, make you proud, but because I wanted to finally convince myself that I wasn't just some shifty, silver-tongued fox anymore. Even in spite of all that anger I felt; something kept telling me that if I allowed myself to lash out, not only would I've proven both of those little monsters right…but I would've let us both down as well."

Judy was left speechless as Nick bowed his head in shame. Something about all this just didn't add up for her. Nick had never once expressed concerns like this before, and even in spite of what he'd just gone through, there shouldn't have been a reason for him to be fretting over it anymore. This couldn't possibly have come from his previous worries about not being able to protect her; but regardless, she was determined to find out what had brought this all about.

"Nick, I wish you knew by now you could never let me down, no matter what were to happen. And I couldn't begin to tell you how proud I already am to call you my friend and partner. Please, tell me where this all came from, Nick. I know this can't have just come up over the last few hours, so please…tell me everything," Judy softly pleaded as Nick let out a defeated sigh. He could never hope to refuse her when she was being both this heartfelt and this persistent.

"I remember that scared look you had back at the Natural History Museum. I know it was all an act, but…well; you're a really convincing actress, Carrots. When this happened…I-I not only remembered that, but also how scared you looked when I got mad at you after that conference. More than letting you down, I was afraid that you'd be scared of me, legitimately this time, if I let myself go like that. After all this time counting on myself, I hated the idea of scaring away the only mammal who actually cared. I don't know if I could ever go back to being alone again after all this, Carrots. I don't care what anyone else thinks, but…but I just couldn't live with thinking you of all people would be scared of me too."

Judy nearly felt her heart break as Nick had laid it all out on the table for her. To think even just the brief moments where her old fear of foxes had shown itself in her eyes had affected him so deeply; it really must've been a testament to how much he'd learned to keep his emotions from really showing themselves. But even then, to think that even despite his constant cool, calm and collected demeanor, that even her pretending to be scared of him had hit him so hard, she couldn't even begin to think of how to respond to that.

It was idiotic to let her deeper yet dormant feelings for Nick be brought back up to know he felt this strongly about her approval; yet she couldn't deny that she felt touched to know the exact same thing and how strongly it had affected his actions. But nevertheless, it killed her just as much as it did the previous times to see Nick so down.

"Nick, no matter what you might think, I'll always trust you, remember? And in spite of things that happened, I could never be truly scared of you, either. Yes, I was afraid of foxes at one point, but don't you know just how many things you've helped me wake up to see since we first met? You helped me to see just how nonsensical my fears were, and helped me see how we all stand as individuals, instead of as entire species.

"I understand where you're coming from, really; but you shouldn't weigh yourself down with so much doubt. You're the most trustworthy mammal I know, and I'll always be at your side through thick and thin. After all, that's not just what partners do; it's what friends do as well. So please, don't ever think that anything you do could ever drive me away from you, alright, Nick? I'm not THAT easy to get rid of," Judy said with such emotion, it couldn't help but make Nick's fur stand on end. He honestly couldn't tell if she was speaking from tired aggravation that even after all this progress he still doubted the strength of their friendship; or if she was speaking from a much deeper, personal place, as if it really did break her heart to see him so vulnerable and afraid of her disappearing from his life. Either way, the effect was the same.

"You know, Carrots…you've really gotta look into alternate careers if you're this good at knowing how to talk to mammals and knowing what they need to hear. Maybe you'd make a fortune as a therapist," Nick suddenly said with a tired mutter; his tone progressively picking up that welcomed familiar sarcasm that Judy had so desperately wanted to hear from him again. Now THIS was the Nick Wilde she knew and loved; the one that always assured her everything would be alright with a sly grin and a terrible attempt at a joke. After so many times of seeing him actually lower his defenses and showing just how truly vulnerable and damaged he really was, it felt like years since last she'd seen that re-invigorated fire return to his eyes.

"Keep dreaming, sly fox. Years of working and studying for one career is enough for me. And hopefully it'll be enough for you," she shot back to humor him as they both felt a great weight lifted off their shoulders now that the worst of Nick's fears had once more been swept aside and all seemed right in the world again.

"You know it will be. You already said you can't think of having anyone else for a partner, and you better believe the feelings' mutual. You're stuck with me, Carrots; one way or another," the grinning fox reassured her as Judy's smile only seemed to brighten more to see just how visibly ready he was once more to take on the world just so they could work together for the years to come.

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Nick. I just hope you're ready. All this craziness must've made these last two months feel like they came to a grinding halt. Well I hope you're ready for it all to pick back up, cause you've still got another seven months ahead of you before graduation," Judy informed him with an almost devious little smirk while Nick looked to be visibly surprised that so little time had actually passed. But thankfully, his expression too seemed to turn into an expectant grin, as though he actually welcomed the challenge.

"Oh, is that all? I thought it would be a whole year. And are you sure Chief Buffalo Butt is really gonna keep you from working with a partner for THAT long?" he asked as Judy couldn't help but give an adorable and embarrassed little grin.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I was very…well, convincing for him to see how much I wanted you as my partner. He agreed to keep me on paperwork and…*sigh* parking duty until you graduated," she finally admitted; and the speed at which Nick's eyes lit up as he looked about ready to give her the payload of jokes at her expense of a lifetime.

"Go ahead and laugh it up, funny fox. Don't forget I can convince them to put YOU on parking duty when you start too," she warned with that confident smirk once more adorning her grey fuzzy face, as if silently daring him to utter one more syllable. Thankfully, he looked to recollect himself and keep his snout shut as she gave him a victorious little knowing grin, as if she knew she had the real advantage over him; not that he actually minded.

"Well, if there's one thing I know, it's that time really does fly for those who have fun. Same goes for the ones with something to look forward to, too; so I say let them give me their worst, Carrots. That'll just make being in your fur 24/7 all the more worth it. Just promise me one thing," Nick stated proudly before letting his bravado die down a little so he could at least let her know he was being more serious once it came to his request.

"Promise you'll still be here at night. Helping to save me aside, I still think it's times like THIS that really make everything else worth it," Nick finally asked; and with all the emotional upheaval of minutes past, Judy felt her ears go burning hot to hear him being so sincere about how much he really treasured their nighttime chats.

"You don't even have to ask, Nick. You just make sure you don't let yourself forget, or I'll remind you personally," she said with mock warning as the two instinctively chuckled once more at how freakishly well their thoughts and words bounced off of each other. Neither of them could honestly of any other two mammals they knew that seemed so naturally in sync.

"Don't get your hopes up, Carrots. Besides, it's just another seven months before we're officially badge buddies. How long could that possibly be?"

 **Seven Months Later…**

All things considered, not too long at all. Now that he no longer had the likes of Bucky to worry about every waking moment, Nick felt like a whole new mammal; light as a feather and ready to take on the world and all of its challenges. Just the very idea of further proving himself to the world and himself drove him every waking moment of every day for the last seven months. Yes, the aches and pains from a hard days' training still persisted, but he carried his soreness with a newfound sense of pride; as if Judy's confidence and support for him had lit an inextinguishable fire deep inside that drove him like nothing had before.

He fought through every challenge each day brought him, from every obstacle course to nearly every opponent in the self-defense course. Yes, there were days where he fell and fell hard, but this time nothing was able to keep him down. This for him was the homestretch, and he was beyond determined to reach it; to be able to finally look at the world and stand confident and proud, to finally show all those that doubted and denounced him that he was more than what the world had been led to believe foxes were.

He was no longer just some average sly, untrustworthy fox. He was Nicholas P. Wilde, and after nine months of non-stop training and pushing himself to his physical, mental and emotional limits, he was here to help make the world a better place.

And at no moment did that enlightening and bolstering truth make itself apparent than it did right now: Graduation Day. The bright afternoon sun made the entire landscape in front of the ZPA Academy bask in the brilliant springtime heat, but he didn't care one bit. Even if he didn't have his sunglasses, the blinding light wouldn't have bothered him at all. Right now he was too busy relishing in the overwhelming realization that he'd finally made it, just as he promised Judy and himself he would.

And of course he was nervous as one mammal could possibly be standing alongside all his fellow cadets-turned-graduates. Sure, he was nervous with the fact that he was about to be officially made into the ZPD's very first fox officer; but he was especially nervous with who'd been announced as a guest speaker for the ceremony.

He couldn't have been happier at first when he heard that the City Council wanted Judy Hopps to speak at the graduation, since it was yet another year with some first time mammals joining the force; but that elation came with its own share of stress as well. Yes, he had missed that little bunny more and more each day, but their nightly talks had really helped stem the emotional tide. But it was now knowing that for the first time in a staggering nine months they were finally going to be reunited face to face, it nearly left him feeling like a tongue-tied teenager about to talk to a female for the first time ever.

Judy had been such a tremendous supportive force during his time here. He wasn't afraid to admit to himself that even before Bucky, there'd been moments he felt so close to just breaking under all the weight that had been forced onto him that he just wanted to call it quits; even in spite of what a letdown it would've been for them both. But bless her heart, she never gave up on him or lost any confidence in him. She was always there to pick him right back up and reinvigorate him with just the mere knowledge that she believed in him like no one ever had before. She made all the pain worth it, sometimes even more than the drive to prove it to himself did.

And now, after all this time of only being able to talk to her through a cellphone screen, he was about to be face-to-face with the most precious mammal he had in his life, his Carrots, and even now it made him feel like his heart was nearly about to give out; especially when the ceremony had officially begun and an elephant in a suit not unlike any other politicians stepped up to the microphone as he looked over all the graduates, ZPA officials and most of the graduates' families.

"Today is a very proud one, not just for the ZPD, but for all of Zootopia. Today marks the beginning of a new era of acceptance and unity in our proud city and our loyal police force. After the turbulent period of fear and distrust our populace had been thrown into, it has made it all too clear to all of us, prey and predator alike, that now is a time for us to join together and stand proudly to face the future in the hopes that we can all help bring about a world where we can truly say we no longer live in that same distrust or fear; where we can look at our fair city and all the world and know that we all helped make it a truly better place for all of us, our friends, our loved ones and our children. Thanks to our absent Mayor Leodore Lionheart's Mammal Inclusion Initiative, we have gathered here today to officially induct a new graduating class into the honorable folds of the ZPD; once more with some first ever mammals stepping forward into the line of duty. But first, I would like to welcome as a guest speaker, the ZPD's first ever rabbit officer and city hero, Valedictorian of the previous year, Officer Judy Hopps."

Nick felt a tremor go through his entire body once the elephant stepped back from the podium and was soon replaced by the long-awaited familiar tiny grey fuzzy head with her ears standing proudly upright as she looked out over the entire audience with an unquestionable air of responsibility and pride above all else.

And the instant he felt her violet eyes meet his green ones; it was like a spark had shot through them both, before she straightened herself, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemammals, it is a great honor to be here today to welcome our future comrades in the worthy cause of upholding the law that makes our society what it is. You know, it's kind of funny, there are days where it still feels like it was only yesterday I stood where they do now; eager to do my best to serve and protect the public trust, and to help make the world a better place for all. But since that day, I've learned many things that I realize I wasn't prepared for. And it is now that I wish to share that experience with all of you so that you may go out into the world with a more open mind than I did, so that we can all TRULY do our very best in upholding our sworn duty while still doing what we as individuals know to be the right thing.

"When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along, and anyone can be anything. Turns out, real life is a little more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We ALL have limitations, we ALL make mistakes. Which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant to our first fox—"

At that instant, Nick felt a nearly instantaneous swell of emotion build in his chest; but determined to stand proud and grateful, he instead lowered his sunglasses to give his bunny, his friend, his unknowing savior, his Carrots, a single knowing wink; instantly earning a bright smile of unmistakable happiness and heartfelt pride from Judy as she managed to continue, all while Nick kept looking up at her with a grateful smile while feeling the trace beginnings of what felt like tears beginning to build.

"I implore you, TRY. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself, and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with ALL of us."

In that instant, the City Council, the graduates and the entire audience gave an immense round of applause as Judy gracefully stepped down from the podium as the familiar hulking stature of their polar bear instructor came up to take her place.

"The official ceremony of the ZPA's latest graduating class shall now begin. Many brave and inspired mammals stepped forward and have proven themselves to be the most outstanding individuals this academy has come to offer. As their teacher, I am proud to call them official officers of the ZPD. Much like Officer Hopps before, I would like to begin the honorary badging with one exemplary recruit who too has proven themselves as the first of their species to join our ranks in Zootopia's history. The ZPD's very first fox officer, Nicholas Piberius Wilde."

Nick nearly felt like his heart was going to burst from over-excitement and anxiety as he stepped forward onto the stage; his steps nearly feeling heavy as cinderblocks as the sound of the applause didn't even register. Right now, all he could feel was the sensation as though he were about to burst from the maelstrom of pure emotion surging through him while also hearing his heart hammering from inside his chest as he stood tall and dignified before the rest as Judy stepped up to him with a single small black velvet box cradled in her paws.

Before his very eyes, as if time seemed to come to a standstill, she opened the box to reveal none other than a brilliant, glimmering golden badge with an honorary plaque nestled underneath it. It was no dream, no cruel delusion. Here, for him to behold, was chiseled onto that plaque beneath that badge that officially marked him as a real police officer: NICHOLAS P. WILDE.

He couldn't recall ever smiling as genuinely as he did in this unforgettable moment as Judy carefully took the badge from its place in that box and pinned it to the chest of his uniform with an almost loving care as she took a single step back for them to finally gaze upon each other as more than just friends, more than just equals, but officially as partners, for now and for all time.

The sheer glow of happiness and countless other emotions in her beautiful violet eyes couldn't have made Nick feel any more joyous than he was right now as the mutual smiles of respect, pride, and true connection they shared seemed to speak bounds of the things they wished they could have said right now; as neither of them felt words could adequately express such things. Nine grueling months apart, with so many things they both had long wished to say in the time they'd spent alone thinking of each other, and now both of them without words to do them justice.

Instead, the two once more seemed to naturally communicate everything they felt in this moment with a single powerful and all-expressing salute of mutual respect; earning a round of wild applause and thrown officer caps into the air from the on-looking crowd upon this finally formed and unbreakable union.

 **The Next Morning…**

Yes, it felt great to finally proclaim that he was back home after what had come to feel like a lifetime.

Yes, it felt fantastic to finally be able to lie down in the bed he knew beyond question to be his.

And yes, it felt amazing to finally be in the most familiar of surroundings once again, bringing with it a real feeling of security and comfort.

But none of those feelings even hoped to measure up to just how good it felt to finally put the academy behind him and accept that at long last, he and Judy were together side by side once more; like an all-powerful dynamic duo that had lost its spark in each other's absence that could only be restored once they were reunited.

And the full impact of how incredible it felt to have her to tease and hold in the fur instead of on a bright little screen fully registered to him as he stood before his closet mirror with what had to be the most childlike grin on his face as Judy insistently went over the finer touches of his brand new uniform, as if he were a child about to go on his first day of elementary school.

Of course, the resemblance was certainly not lost in him as he watched the little grey bunny work so diligently to see to it her new official partner was looking as presentable as she managed to every single day. As much as he wanted to thank her, none of the words seemed to sound right in his head once she seemed to be fully satisfied with how the red fox looked in his personal dress blues.

As Nick returned his gaze to the mirror; for a fraction of a second, he could've sworn his stare was being returned by a smaller fox of 8 or 9 years old in a spick and span new green Junior Ranger Scouts uniform; standing firm and resolute with an undeniably silly look of bravery on his tiny face; while all the hope and happiness in the world reflected in his eyes.

But just as quickly as it was there, Nick quickly found himself staring at the adult fox in a perfectly fitted police uniform adorned with a glistening golden badge that proved to him in his heart that this was no illusion. This was the new Nick Wilde looking back at him, and that badge among many other things was irrefutable proof of just how far he'd come. And in the end, he owed it all to that irreplaceable bunny standing proudly at his side, as if she were fully checking out just how perfect they looked together.

Neither of them wanted to potentially ruin this unforgettable moment with words as they both seemed to feel an incredible surge of excitement and contentment to know this was now where their lives were; and they both could tell the other felt the same just from the glowing smiles on their faces reflected in the mirror.

"Can you feel that, Nick?" Judy soon asked as he had to struggle to take a breath, as if he were still struggling to accept that this was all really real.

"I think I can, Carrots. This…this is the first day of the rest of our lives," he managed to reply as the words seemed to hit right at home as Judy looked so incredibly happy, just as much as he did. For a second, just looking at her, he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd take this moment to pull him down to hug him. In fact, that probably would've made this the perfect start for what had to be the best day of his life so far.

"Wouldn't want it any other way. So, you ready to make the world a better place, partner?" she asked as she turned her full attention to her partner in an attempt to psyche him up for their first official day on the force together as he immediately returned her professional stance with that never-fading sly grin.

"As ready as you are, partner. Just don't give yourself a heart attack from the excitement BEFORE we get to the station. I don't think my legs have lost enough soreness for me to carry you back to the hospital," he answered as Judy gave him a clearly amused smirk as they immediately proceeded to head out the door side-by-side; heading out to give Zootopia its first taste of the ZPD's most unique and unstoppable duo.

But not before Nick swiped out a small pair of tickets he'd craftily stuck behind the pantry near the door while Judy hadn't been looking the previous night and stuck them firmly into his back pocket.

What better way to compliment the beginning to a perfect day than with the perfect ending?

 **And that, my beloved fans and traversing readers, was 'I: The Road to Recovery', the first installment of my Zootopia story series. I want to sincerely thank every last one of you from the bottom of my heart for all your continuous support over these last several weeks of writing this story for you all. You make everything I work through to make this story the best it could possibly be ALL worth it, and I hope to keep living up to your expectations and my own for a good long time to come.**

 **If you all want to see where Nick and Judy will go from here as far as what I have planned is concerned, I highly encourage you all to Follow me so you can know first thing when the first chapter for the sequel is up. I'm sure a good lot of you are greatly looking forward to it, but might as well. You all deserve to see the future I have in store just as much as everyone else.**

 **Once again, thank you ALL for your love and support. We've followed Judy and Nick down their respective Roads To Recovery…but one cannot truly be able to step forward selflessly into the unknown of the future without first LEAVING THE PAST.**


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